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Action for Refugees (Chios)
Chios
Aim
We're going to Chios to help the refugee response: help us raise money for two amazing projects!
The Situation
Since March this year, over 2,000 refugees have been stranded on the Greek island of Chios in dire conditions with little information as to what will happen next. Following the EU-Turkey readmission agreement, these most vulnerable of people (most of whom have fled warzones) live in constant limbo, not knowing whether or not they will be deported.
The Plan
We can do something to help them. This June we'll be joining the Chios Eastern Shore Response Team , a group of local and international volunteers. For months, the team has been working tirelessly, rescuing boats, providing post-arrival care to refugees, managing the warehouse and distributing food and clothes at the refugee camps.
There are currently two crucial projects which are doing amazing work but urgently need your support to continue. The first is a school. This is the first school of its kind in Greece to bring together a staff of refugee teachers and volunteers to provide lessons in English, Arabic, Maths, Science and Art for more than a hundred children, who have fled from various conflicts, including Syria and Iraq.
This provides them with a sense of purpose and structure, thereby preventing the loss of a whole generation of valuable members of any future society.
The second is a Legal Info Point. Whenever volunteers distribute milk, soap or clothes and ask refugees what else they and their families need, the answer is always the same: information. They tell them that they can live without shoes or sleep on the floor but that they need to understand what is happening to them.
This is why CESRT is sending lawyers to set up a space where refugees can ask their questions, get information on the asylum procedure, and to learn about their rights. The legal team provides all services for free but needs your support to be able to stay on Chios. Helping them to understand their rights will give them back something of their agency and thus also their human dignity.
Our own trip is self-funded. This means all your donations will go towards supporting these two projects.
Many thanks!
John-Mark & Ludek
This project successfully funded on 13th July 2016