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Humanity
The first division is all about solidarity on Lesvos. On the Island Lesvos there is the biggest refugee camp in Europe (new Kara Tepe or Moria 2.0). In the summer of 2019 and 2021, we have visited several charitable organizations and selected those that are the most popular in the view of the refugees and have a need of financial support.
Clothes and art
Philippa and Eric Kempson, a British couple who wanted to retire in Lesvos and dedicate themselves entirely to art. With the refugee crisis in 2015, first refugees stranded nearly to their house. Since then, they have been dressing hundreds of refugees every day. Today, they share further their passion for art with them. In a studio which they have set up, the refugees can express themselves creatively. The individual works are breathtaking and are currently receiving more and more attention. Philippa and Eric hardly care about their appearance on the Internet. For this reason we link in addition some of our own pictures.
Entertainment and Education
One Happy Family is probably one of the most popular projects. It seems like almost a small village where refugees spend their time during the day. The organization with its domicile in Switzerland aims to give people back a bit of dignity and self determination. Projects have been set up at the request and initiative of the refugees. For instance, cinema, playground, sports field, yoga tent, internet café, gym, barber, women's room etc. should make the time on the island a little more bearable. In addition, the long waiting time is being put to good use by school lessons in the education centre that has been set up.
At the beginning of March 2020 the community centre caught fire. The cause is still not completely clarified. For certain, it was not an accident. One Happy Family will be rebuilt, that for, solidarity is required.
Healthcare
The hygiene conditions in Camp Moria are unbearable. Many people live together in very confined spaces. Especially in the current time of the pandemic, the camp is an ideal breeding ground for the spread of the virus. Only in the rarest cases the refugees receive state medical support. Unlike Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors without Borders), the organization Kitrinos Healthcare did not withdraw from the island during the outbreak of COVID-19 and continues to take care of the health of each individual refugees in an unbureaucratic manner.
Sea Rescue
Thousands of people drown every year trying to flee across the Mediterranean (over 22,000 since 2014). SOS Méditerranée is deployed in the central Mediterranean Sea with the rescue ship Ocean Viking to rescue people in distress at sea and to document the humanitarian crisis on the ground. They are fulfilling the moral, but also legal duty of providing assistance at sea. SOS Méditerranée has thus been able to save the lives of 33,000 people since 2016. In addition to France, Germany and Italy, they also have an association headquarters in Switzerland.
