Assisting Refugees on the Move: Care-A-Van

Dearest CARS supporters,

Over these past several months, COHI has been so thrilled and appreciative to work alongside you all in order to provide accessible mobile health care to migrants and refugees wandering through Greece. We have finally reached a point that we feel comfortable with letting this vehicle drive itself. All it needed was a good push from folks like you to get the wheels turning!

The MamaMobile has found a new home in Drama Camp, located just northwest of Thessaloniki - Greece's second largest city. Our partners at Team Kitrinos Health Care will continue to operate the program and provide the maternal, pediatric and family health care that we and our beneficiaries so cherish. As an officially registered program, CARS will be able to continue its meaningful work without obstruction from Greek authorities. This will be paramount in ensuring a long-lasting and impactful program.

During our involvement in CARS, COHI has helped achieve the following:

• Providing comprehensive health care to approximately 4,300 migrants/refugees.
• Gathering the initial funding needed to initiate the program.
• Locating and selecting the vehicle that would later become the MamaMobile.
• Ensuring a safe space for camp population of over 6,000 women and children.
• Procuring and delivering a total of $12,000 worth of medication.

This program has truly made a positive impact on a great many people. Unfortunately, the current refugee diaspora in Europe has no immediate end in sight which is why we so strongly urge our followers to stay involved and remain invested. Whether it be with COHI or another like-minded organization, the work being done in the field so greatly depends on folks like you. Thank you for caring about these people in need. While many of them may never know your names, they do know that there are people in this world who care for them. 

With the deepest respect, we thank you once more for your participation in this program. You have done a wonderful thing. 

Most sincerely,

The COHI Team

Links:

• COHI website

Dearest Care-A-Van supporters,

We hope that everyone is doing well and doing their best to stay cool during these hot summer days. Another month is in the books for the CARS Program and we have lots to share and report with you all.

Figures: Below, we have included some impact numbers to give you a general sense of the program's statistical relationship to the relief effort:

• An average of around 422 patients were seen each week with a total of 1,686 patients seen over the course of the month so far. 
• 512 female patients were seen by female clinicians to receive sexual reproductive health care. 
• About 150 patients were referred to us by allied organizations in the area.
• The CARS team has remained around 6-9 people deep throughout the month. 

Health Risks: Here is a list of the common ailments and medical needs our team is facing on the ground:

• Chronic Disease Management
• Flu-like symptoms
• Sprain, strains, and joint pain
• Insect bites
• Heat stroke + dehydration
• Complications caused by malnutrition
• Prenatal health

Programmatic Challenges: Right now, the CARS team faces several challenges. Amongst the largest of these challenges is the intense summer heat, the Ramadan fast, and the closure of EKO camp in mid-June. The closure has forced our team to work elsewhere and while we are still seeing many patients, the team was quite disheartened to see thousands of refugees - many of which they had formed strong bonds with - relocated to disparate parts of the country. Ramadan fasting has    

Ramadan fasting has resulted in a greater risk of heat exhaustion, dehydration, and malnutrition. This, mixed with an extra hot summer in Greece, has led to heightened levels of health complications for refugees within the camps.

Closing Updates: The CARS team is now working in camps outside of Thessaloniki (the second largest city in Greece) and is currently reaching out to military camps to obtain permanent placement now that EKO is closed.  

As always, thank you all so much for supporting COHI's work and the CARS Program. It is because of your help that we are able to make everything I mentioned above happen. We are quite excited about our upcoming Syrian Midwife Technical Training Workshop coming up on July 11 in Gaziantep, Turkey. We will be posting a lot about it on our social media channels if you wish to learn more. 

If you have any additional questions, please contact Lucas as lpastorfieldli@cohintl.org. 

So full of appreciation,

The COHI Team

Links:

• COHI mentioned for providing contraceptive care to refugees