In total, Dråpen i Havet has welcomed more than 9,000 volunteers from over 70 countries! Naturally, each volunteer brings their own unique story, experience, expertise and motivation to the field, which ultimately makes up the rich, colorful potpourri of people that characterizes the “Drop-family”.
Susan Clark is one of the many volunteers who have temporarily left their lives at home to gain new experiences and perspectives by working with us in the camp on the island of Lesvos. For three weeks, she volunteered as a field worker, assisting with Dråpen i Havet’s laundry service. This role involved collecting and distributing laundry in the camp through our door-to-door outreach project. She also participated in our detergent distribution and community outreach, sharing important information related to our WASH activities. DiH’s laundry service has become invaluable in the challenging living conditions of the camp, with the ultimate goal of reducing public health risks and promoting the well-being of the camp community.
In a short interview, Susan shares her impressions on Lesvos and what motivated her to volunteer with Dråpen i Havet in the first place. We are grateful to Susan for her dedicated work and to all the volunteers who have joined Dråpen i Havet on its journey to help the most vulnerable over the past few years. Without them, this endeavor would not have been possible!
Susan, thank you very much for this interview. Please start by telling us who you are, where you are from and how you are connected to Dråpen i Havet?
My name is Susan Clark. I am originally from the USA, but have lived in Norway for 30 years. I am a lawyer (recently retired), yoga teacher and co-founder and president of a voluntary organisation called Beyond Art. I am only connected to Dråpen i Havet through my position with Beyond Art and now personally as a volunteer.
In the past you have arranged several art auctions collecting funds for Dråpen i Havet, through your charity Beyond Art. Tell us, how you heard about the work of Dråpen i Havet and how you became a volunteer?
Beyond Art is a non-profit organisation that raises awareness and funds for charity through art auctions. We believe that art has a unique ability to bring people together, regardless of their political, religious, social or other affiliations, in a common cause to help make the world a little better for all. The board of Beyond Art chooses a particular charity to support through a vetting process which includes researching the goal or work of the charity as well as how its money is spent. In 2020, we learned of the important work Dråpen i Havet (“DiH”) does for refugees and, after researching DiH, we decided to support them through that year’s auction. We again held a charity auction for the benefit of DiH in 2023 and will do so for a third time in September 2024.
I decided to volunteer so as to see how the charity operates on the ground and to experience firsthand the challenges people in the camp on Lesvos face.
You may read about Beyond Art here.
Why do you think you felt the urge to come here now and lend a helping hand when you could have continued to support the work of Dråpen i Havet from abroad?
To be honest, I have wanted to volunteer for DiH since I first learned of its work in 2020, but my job and family responsibilities prevented me from doing so. Now that I am retired from the practise of law, I am in a position to help “on the ground”. I also believe that my personal experience here will better enable me to describe the work of DiH to those who attend our auction in September and perhaps persuade them to donate. I can be much more persuasive if I can say to an audience, I was on Lesvos and I saw first-hand the camp, its conditions and how DiH serves the people who live there
What inspires you when you are “on the ground” doing what you are doing?
I am inspired by the strength and resilience I see in the residents of the camp as exemplified by the community volunteers I have met. I am also impressed by the camp coordinators, Vicky and Ayinde and inspired by the commitment of my fellow international volunteers some of whom have dedicated months of their lives to work here.
Would you say that your volunteer work on Lesvos is changing your perspective on what’s happening here, and if so, do you think this experience will have a lasting impact on you?
Perhaps the old adage “a picture is worth a thousand words” best expresses how my experience has helped form my perspective. We hear stories in the media of people who face unimaginable hardships, but it is hard, if not impossible, to fully understand the reality of the situation. Being here has made life in the camp real for me and that will absolutely have a lasting impact on me.
Is there anything else you would like to say in closing? Perhaps a story or experience you would like to share?
I am mindful of the need to protect the privacy of those we seek to help in the camp, so I do not wish to share a specific story. Generally speaking, however, when I approach people in their temporary homes to offer laundry services or to explain about the free laundry soap that DiH provides, I am usually met with a smile and always with respect, not to mention patience as I fumble with my language app so as to be understood in Farsi or Arabic or Amharic. For me, this has been an experience of a lifetime for which I am very grateful.
Do you consider joining the Drop-team? Check out our available positions here.