Kara Tepe refugee camp
On 9 September 2020 the Moria camp burned down. After the fire, 12,000 people were left without shelter. Many were relocated to the mainland, but around 7,800 asylum seekers were resettled in the new temporary site of Kara Tepe.
Camp residents live mostly in refugee housing units , and there is not sufficient electricity or running hot water in the camp. There are continuously disease outbreaks, such as scabies and lice. The geographic location of the camp makes it extremely prone to the consequences of storms and heavy rain. During the winter season, the temperature drops to around zero degrees, making an already difficult situation even worse.
Photo: A Drop in the Ocean
What does A Drop in the Ocean do on Lesvos?
The living conditions for the inhabitants of Mavrovouniare extremely difficult. A Drop in the Ocean has a team on the ground consisting of experienced coordinators, and international, local and community volunteer field workers. Our team monitor the situation and assist wherever it is needed, often in co-operation with other organisations, and reports to the camp management as the chairman of the WASH sector
We have been working on Lesvos since 2015. Before Covid-19 and the fire in Moria, we organised activities at our Drop Centre in Moria Village and our Drop Learning Centre. We ran activities for unaccompanied single minors inside Moria refugee camp.
After the fire in Moria Camp, we initiated the following activities.
Our programme activities:
Humanitarian Aid
- Laundry service
Without adequate access to water in Mavrovouni Camp, hygienic services are a constant challenge. Our project ensures that we reach all camp residents offering laundry services. On a daily basis, our teams collect clothes to be washed from families, singles and protection referrals. In our laundry station, we wash all incoming bags to medical standards contributing to our capacity as part of the medical protocol for skin diseases eradication. Additionally, through referrals from the medical sector, we train our staff to offer guided and practical information about scabies.
Community Empowerment Mobilisation
- To run our laundry project in camp, we receive the support of resident volunteers representing every nationality living in Mavrovouni. In connection with International volunteers and coordinators, we run various language cafes, job readiness projects and team building exercises to engage the residents volunteers, creating an inclusive environment in our space in camp, giving an opportunity for activities in a camp with limited access to recreational activities.
- The Community Volunteer project ensures that, we as DiH, empower, mobilise and as a result return agency to community members. The successful running of our Lesvos operation relies on our international/local members in engaging residents in the running of our projects.
As an international/local volunteer you will be asked to support our laundry technicians in the launderette outside of camp if you have committed for less than one month. If you have been accepted for more than one month, your daily tasks will consist of being in camp with coordinators and Community Volunteers from 8 am to 1 am, Monday to Friday, collecting bags or returning clean clothes following our operational protocols. Your support will then be requested in the afternoon to support the team in the laundry station or in camp with other projects destined to build the capacity of Community Volunteers such as job readiness, language cafes and team building exercises, as well as attending various trainings
Due to the situation of Covid-19, changes to the activities might occur. We always ensure infection prevention by following various infection control measures, in accordance with the guidelines of the Greek authorities.
