Share Hope with Refugees at Camp Oinofyta Greece

To all of our supporters, this will be the last update for this project. As we said in the last project report, the Greek government decided to close the Oinofyta Camp and on November 6th, it was officially closed.

At the time of closure, there were 546 residents registered in our census. More than half of them were sent to apartments in Athens and the rest were sent to other camps. During our time in Oinofyta, we had over 2450 residents come through the camp. We had 427 volunteers come to work with us directly, and 17 large groups of volunteers ranging in numbers from 12 to 72. We also had the opportunity to work with many other small organizations. The experience was both rewarding and exhausting.

Through the generosity of our supporters we built and furnished eleven dorm rooms, ten bathrooms, three kitchens, a school, teen center, women’s space, mosque, warehouse space, workshop, sewing center, barber/beauty shop, two outdoor shade gardens, a computer center, multi-purpose space, counseling space, a gym space with equipment and a football field.

We ran over 8 kilometers of electrical wiring and wired much of the camp and outbuildings, including the office spaces for UNHCR, IOM and Armando Aid, we provided many truckloads of gravel, replaced the entire roof on the building, built a chicken coop and provided 115 chickens and food and supplies for them.

We were able to purchase food, clothing, hygiene supplies, shoes, jackets, gloves, hats, blankets, sleeping bags, beds, diapers (by the tens of thousands!), baby formula, wipes, toilet paper, tissues and feminine hygiene products. We provided art supplies, refrigerators, cook tops, medicine, train passes for classes in Athens, transportation to doctor appointments, surgical procedures, Greek lessons, computer lessons and English classes. We were able to give every baby born at the camp a new baby kit, complete with all the supplies and clothing they would need for the first six months of life, including a bed.

All of the residents of our camp were able to live with dignity since their physical needs were taken care of.

Now that the camp is closed, we are continuing to honor our mission statement for this project to help the refugee population in Greece as well as the Greek people by working on integration activities. We are providing housing for several past residents and assisting many with learning to navigate the Greek asylum, social, medical and employment systems. To this end, we will be setting up a Community Center to serve the refugee population in the Attika Region of Greece.

We want to thank you all for the support you have given us over the past two years, and look forward to your continued support for our newest refugee project, “Help Support Integration for Refugees in Greece.”

Sincerely, The Do Your Part Team