Lesvos Outreach

Thursday, 23 January 2020

Outreach to Lesvos Island, Greece

Moria Refugee Camp

Moria is the largest refugee camp on Lesvos, run by the police and the army. Moria is a reception and identification center, in other words a hotspot area. This means that all refugees who arrive on the island per boat are taken to Moria for registration and to apply for asylum. After registration, the most vulnerable refugees and their families, are brought to different camps or shelters.

The number of residents in the camp fluctuates between 6000 and 7500 while initially the camp was built for 2000 residents to stay for only a short period of time. On 15 November 2019, there were around 13000 residents in Moria camp.

Refugee camp Moria feels like a prison. The camp is divided into different sectors per nationality and there is an actual prison within the camp as well. It has limited facilities for the refugees.

What will the volunteers do?

As a volunteer on Lesvos, you will be involved in different projects, such as our Digital Learning Lab, community kitchens, clothing shop, community centre, football program and electricity program. That means, one day you might help the residents find the right clothing in our shop and sort clothing in the warehouse, while the next day you may teach a computer basics class and assist with a football training session.

What is the daily schedule of a volunteer on Lesvos?

Each day is different. Because the schedules of the different projects do not coincide, the volunteer’s schedule varies per day. If you are scheduled for the clothing store, your day might start at 9:30 AM. For the community kitchen program, your day will start in the afternoon and can last until 21:00 PM. In general, volunteers will be working approximately 10 hours per day with the necessary breaks in between.

Practical Information

• Date: May 18 – 30, 2020
• Deadline of application: Sunday, January 23, 2020
• Estimation cost per person: EUR 2000, incl. flight Amsterdam – Mitilini Airport, lodging (two weeks, twin room-share with one other person), transport on the island and food.
• The cost excluding:
  – Extra costs for preparatory meetings, estimate around 80 euros
  – Personal medical insurance
  – We ask for a minimum of 200 euros per person to be donated to MOTG or BRF (depending on what foundation you will work for) prior to arrival on the island.
• Volunteers needs to be able to join preparation meeting in The Hague every month.