Alcohol-free spaces for children in Greenland

In a country where people are still living in close connection with the surrounding nature and the climate challenges also social work needs to adpt to the local reality.The summer time is short and it requires all families involving children and adults to gather reserves for the winter. The hunting and fishing needs to be done at summer months and also the collection of berries and mushrooms etc. This is the time of the year when there is not as much time for volunteering at Blue Cross or paying attention to alcohol and drug issues. Still- the people who are not able to prepare for the hard winter are in the risk of further difficulties in their life. If people affected by addiction can get support all year round they can manage better and have less risk for serious social exclusion.

There has been a project in 7 towns but during the busy months it was hard to find volunteers. Blue Cross staff on the other hand do not have the finances to use helicopters on a regular basis to travel in this vast country to provide the face to face services in all of these locations altough the alcohol problem is a serious issue and the need is overwhelming. There are no roads to many of the places and only option is to fly or to take a ferry. These other travel methods are very time consuming and this is why local volunteers are the key to successful work. In addition fund s are needed to support and train the volunteers and this is why we are so thankful for your contributions.

Blue Cross Greenland needs your support more than ever and we look forward to updating you about our activities in coming months.

Wishing you all a Happy and Healthy New Year 2018.