Help support the refugee community on Samos!

Since our last update roughly 6 months ago, there has been a big change of circumstances. Due to changes in regulations implemented by the Ministry in Athens, MOTG is currently not allowed to work inside the camp. However, this has not stopped our team; we have continued our programs at a location near the camp. We were granted permission by camp management to continue operating the laundries within the camp through our Community Volunteers, who were coordinated externally.

It required a lot of adaptation, but our team managed to resume the integrity of our program outside the camp. It was crucial for us to continue implementing our projects and working with our team, not only because our programs are important but also because the fear of MOTG leaving Samos has deeply saddened the camp residents. Thanks to the hard work of every member of our team, we were able to alleviate that fear and continue many of our programs for the benefit of the residents. Perhaps most importantly, we were able to resume our work of connecting the different communities in Zervou Camp with each other. 

So, what have we been up to? 

We maintain our Community Spaces for the residents, such as the Chai point. 

Also outside of the camp, we were able to build a Chai Point. The purpose is to offer a safe place where everyone is welcome to have a warm beverage, to sit in the shaded area and to play games together. Within our Chai Point we also introduced a printing service accessible to all as many residents needed to print documents - for their asylum procedures or general camp administration - and this service did not exist in camp.

We keep offering our residents essential services with our washing stations. 

Thanks to a quality system, we are successfully washing over 700 bags of clothes per week. This program has become  essential to the residents in the camp.Thanks to our Community Volunteers, we are still able to continue this incredibly critical program.

We keep creating opportunities for all the residents through our education program.
Our educational program is running at full speed, and our connection with the community remains strong. This connection is particularly important at this time because tensions between different communities in the camp have increased significantly since our departure, as well as violent interactions with camp security and the police. 

We support the residents with an Info Point

Many residents simply lack any information about their situation, the camp, and a lot of other critical topics. We decided to fill that gap and build a team of translators to deliver all the essential information to all camp residents. The team was able to provide information to hundreds of resident. More than informing new arrivals, they became a permanent source of information for all residents, informing about topics such as the current MOTG programmes, distributions of needed goods, bus schedules, etc. The info point also includes a printing station

Future 

We have many ambitions for the future of our program. Not the least of which is the continuation and expansion of our current programs, from the crucial laundry program to our highly successful Digital Learning Lab (DLL). Additionally, we plan to implement a few new programs that will provide all residents with access to a library and a music program, as well as a leadership scholarship for the Community Volunteers who have demonstrated their dedication through their work as Team Leaders. 

We are very proud of everything we have achieved in the past half year. Beyond the impact of each individual program that has benefited the community, our presence in the camp has improved the overall atmosphere. With a team of currently over 60 Community Volunteers, a Chai Point where residents can meet and socialize, and a highly popular Cruyff Court where sports activities take place, our transformation is in full swing.

We have found innovative ways to make our programs outside the camp as effective as within. Through our work, we demonstrate how refugee reception can and should be operated. The blueprint of our work is the key to changing refugee accommodation throughout Greece and Europe. We are well on our way!

A lot has changed inside Camp Zervou on Samos since our last update.Of course, the Cruyff Court continues to an incredibly important part of social life, with both male and football tournaments incredible popular among the camp residents. Especially the programs for the kids make the inside of a grey and barren camp seem much bright. The camp now even has it's own footbal team, the Zervou Scorpions, who play matches against local Greek teams. 

The Chai Point continues to be the social centre of camp, with many residents playing a game of chess on the tables outside, or just coming for a warm cup of tea and a chat. It is also the Info-Point for the residents of the camp, where they can ask questions on the details of camp-life, how to access our programs, or really anything with which they might need help.

But since our last update Movement has created so much more than just the Cruyff Court and the Chai Point.  Thanks to our team, there is now a full-time laundry program, accessible to all residents. This means clean clothes for all, an absolute necessity for dignity, a positive mood, and physical safety. Run by our Community Volunteers of course, our laundry program processes over a 100 bags of laundry each day.

Next to our Laundry program, Movement has also made our dream of a great education program a reality. Thanks to our Digital Learning Lab(DLL), students can follow a whole range of educational courses. From Basic English and Digital skills courses taught by Community Volunteer teachers, students can move on to more advanced programs taught via online learning on donated laptops. Every day sees many enthusiastic students studying inside  the DLL, eager to prepare themselves for the next steps on their journey towards a safe home. 

Our efforts to improve the look and feel of the camp have also made quite some progression. Thanks to two new members of our team, the Painting team has made it their mission to make the camp look better, every day. You can see some of their best work below. Thanks to our technical team, they also have plenty of new communal furniture to decorate, which brightens up every community space Movement creates.

Movement now has a team of over 70 Community volunteers working hard to improve daily life in the camp. Thanks to their efforts,  the camp gets a little bit better, every single  day. Thanks to your support, we are able to keep our efforts going. Thank you!

Movement on the Ground worked for the first half of 2021 in the jungle outside Camp Vathy which had built up due to over crowding in the main camp. The two main projects that we carried out there was Waste Management and Lighting.  A group of resident volunteers joined our team to work  on a daily basis to keep the camp clean. Every morning the group would meet with our MOTG Field Officer to start the daily process of waste removal. In additon they worked to install bins across the camp and to help encourage residents to keep their spaces clean. By actively participating these volunteers are improving their mental health, using and developing their personal skills and feeling part of a team. The impact of a cleaner camp on the wider population is huge, not only on the emotional well-being of all residents but also their physical health.  

Only the official camp had lights. Residents would use small solar lights (provided by the UN), torches or just light a fire. There was also no electricity in the jungle. Therefore MOTG decided to install lighting. Together with resident volunteers these lights were installed across the jungle. It made a huge difference to safety and accessibility. When the sun went down early it was a long time in the darkness. Residents (especially women and children) would not feel safe to go to the toilets or to get water from the taps. Whilst lights by themselves cannot resolve all the safety issues, it was clear people felt safer and more able to access the WASH facilities at night. In addition the jungle was on a hill, with many gaps, small rivers and uneven terrain so it was challenging to move around in the complete darkness. 

In September 2021 Camp Vathy was closed and the residents were moved to a new camp - RIC Zervou.  This is often called a "closed camp" in that the residents are unable to leave the camp. It is built in the middle of nowever, 6 Kms from anywhere. Whilst people are now living in ISO boxes instead of makeshift structures in the jungle the environment is far from dignified. MOTG made the decision to go with our volunteers and have a presence in the camp. Most other NGOs are operating from outside the camp. Whilst we do not think these conditions or this way of housing refugees is acceptable we want to try to make a difference and the only way we can do this is to be inside the camp. 

The camp does look bleak but we have worked alongside our volunteers to give it some colour, we now have a Chai tea point serving as a community space for people to come together, we have built football courts with our partner Cruyff Foundatio so people can play sport.  We have big plans for 2022 as to how we can help make this camp more dignified with more community spaces, education programs, improvements to the ISO boxes.