Over the course of last year, Lighthouse Relief supported 4332 people who arrived in 117 boats along the North Shore of Lesvos. The Lighthouse landing car, now a regular part of the landscape in the village of Skala Sikaminea, enables us to mobilise a 24-hour response team within five minutes and to navigate rough and sometimes off-road terrain to reach those arriving with emergency support and provisions.
Refugees are still arriving on the North Shore of Lesvos. Since March 2016, Lighthouse Relief has attended every single landing in the region, and will continue to do so - as long as there is a need and we are able. We are in urgent need of a new vehicle to support our emergency response operations, in order to transport our team and humanitarian supplies to the various landing sites as well as transport people from the shoreline.
Raising enough money to cover the cost of purchasing a new landing car would alleviate the huge financial pressure associated with relying on a rental company to provide one of the two emergency response vehicles integral to our work. Securing this vital asset makes our operations more sustainable, and helps ensure Lighthouse Relief can continue to represent a beacon of hope and support on the North Shore.
Lighthouse Relief works alongside partners and volunteers to mobilise rescue and relief operations in Lesvos, seeking to prevent emergencies before they develop. Alongside our spotting and landing operations, and as conditions for refugees stranded in Greece deteriorate, we aim to build on our growing experience of engaging and empowering the most vulnerable, as part of longer-term programming - finding new ways to bring their unique and varied experiences to a wider audience.
