Dear all,
The first week has made a big impression on us. We both started at refugee camp Kara Tepe where all vulnerable refugees live on Lesvos, such as children and the disabled. But we also visited Moria (see photo), a place where there are many refugees living in appalling conditions, but where a new campus is fortunately started by Movement on the Ground.
We have carried out various activities, such as giving breakfast, providing clothes, helping in a community kitchen and installing fans. Despite the long hours we get a lot of gratitude back. Refugees have told us impressive stories and even expressed frustration about their past, because there is no one else to share it with. And that's okay, because we do a lot of practical things, but 'just being there' is at times the most important thing to do.
We've been able to buy all kinds of good from all the wonderful donations that we have received so far. Like a coke for a man from Iraq who fled and voluntarily uses his experience as an electrician on the campus. Or 500 garbage bags for all clothing that has been donated and needs to be sorted. And kilos of paper and pens for the Afghan women we draw with, because they can not tell in words what makes them happy or sad.
Thank you for all the moments we can give them through your donations. It is heart-warming to see how far we have already come. We like to keep you informed about the amount we spend the money on.
This week we both had a moment this week that has made a great impression in our own way:
Rianne
Yesterday I walked into a house of one of the families on Kara Tepe. A house that was almost empty, but the iteam that were there, was neatly organised. I came to bring a pot and a pan for the family to cook with. Because that is what every Isobox gets here on the piece of Lesvos that looks like a campsite. I was a little shocked by how neat it was inside. There was basically only a torn carpet and old mattress, but everything that was inside had a specific spot. The woman in the door kindly thanked me in Kurdish for the pot and pan. Then she turned back to her two children.
For six days I saw large families eating little food and clothes, but on the seventh day the lump in my throat was bigger than all those days before. The way this woman had organised her cottage, even though there was hardly anything, that would have been the way I would have lived there. Would I also be kind enough to thank people for a pot or pan if I lived in an empty loft? At that moment I could have started to cry in front of her. But I could not decide whether that had given her a better feeling. Because I would not know if it had given me a better feeling. So I just turned around and swallowed it away.
Then suddenly, the refugee life came close to me. There are more than a 1000 vulnerable refugees on Kara Tepe, but it is incredible how many different cultures and backgrounds are here in such a small place. So quickly you come across someone you identify with your own way. This woman was the Kurdish version of me. She only seemed even stronger than me.
Who knows, maybe I'll walk back again. But not for now. I came across my reflection once already this week.
Sanne
Where shall I begin. The first week feels like a month.It is special how quickly you connect with people and how easily you find ways to communicate with people. I now have whole app conversations with people who do not speak a word of English by constantly sending photos of Google Translate to each other. He from Arabic to English and then back from English to Arabic (see photo).
What I mainly worked on is installing fans in the more than 260 Isoboxes. You enter every family and then connect the fan to the electrical box. You see so many cultures and beautiful things in every isobox / house, but you also see the misery and sometimes a bit of history of these people. What I find very special is that although they get three meals a day, which is actually not enough, these people still want to offer you half a meal, tea or a soda because they are grateful to you. This is despite the fact that they have very little to almost nothing. Before you know it, you're drinking tea with five children on your lap and you have to apologise that you really want to go back to work.
What in one way or another has impressed me a lot, is that I came to an isobox / house and there was a woman with dark hair and a child. I could see the war and misery in her eyes. When I started installing, she put on Bob Dylon's Knocking On Heaven's Door on her phone and before I knew it we were singing along together. She is sitting on the ground with her child and I are installing the fan.
This is a moment that I will never forget and I will have to think about her for the rest of my life.
There is so much more to tell but that will be in the next update;)
The first week has made a big impression on us. We both started at refugee camp Kara Tepe where all vulnerable refugees live on Lesvos, such as children and the disabled. But we also visited Moria (see photo), a place where there are many refugees living in appalling conditions, but where a new campus is fortunately started by Movement on the Ground.
We have carried out various activities, such as giving breakfast, providing clothes, helping in a community kitchen and installing fans. Despite the long hours we get a lot of gratitude back. Refugees have told us impressive stories and even expressed frustration about their past, because there is no one else to share it with. And that's okay, because we do a lot of practical things, but 'just being there' is at times the most important thing to do.
We've been able to buy all kinds of good from all the wonderful donations that we have received so far. Like a coke for a man from Iraq who fled and voluntarily uses his experience as an electrician on the campus. Or 500 garbage bags for all clothing that has been donated and needs to be sorted. And kilos of paper and pens for the Afghan women we draw with, because they can not tell in words what makes them happy or sad.
Thank you for all the moments we can give them through your donations. It is heart-warming to see how far we have already come. We like to keep you informed about the amount we spend the money on.
This week we both had a moment this week that has made a great impression in our own way:
Rianne
Yesterday I walked into a house of one of the families on Kara Tepe. A house that was almost empty, but the iteam that were there, was neatly organised. I came to bring a pot and a pan for the family to cook with. Because that is what every Isobox gets here on the piece of Lesvos that looks like a campsite. I was a little shocked by how neat it was inside. There was basically only a torn carpet and old mattress, but everything that was inside had a specific spot. The woman in the door kindly thanked me in Kurdish for the pot and pan. Then she turned back to her two children.
For six days I saw large families eating little food and clothes, but on the seventh day the lump in my throat was bigger than all those days before. The way this woman had organised her cottage, even though there was hardly anything, that would have been the way I would have lived there. Would I also be kind enough to thank people for a pot or pan if I lived in an empty loft? At that moment I could have started to cry in front of her. But I could not decide whether that had given her a better feeling. Because I would not know if it had given me a better feeling. So I just turned around and swallowed it away.
Then suddenly, the refugee life came close to me. There are more than a 1000 vulnerable refugees on Kara Tepe, but it is incredible how many different cultures and backgrounds are here in such a small place. So quickly you come across someone you identify with your own way. This woman was the Kurdish version of me. She only seemed even stronger than me.
Who knows, maybe I'll walk back again. But not for now. I came across my reflection once already this week.
Sanne
Where shall I begin. The first week feels like a month.It is special how quickly you connect with people and how easily you find ways to communicate with people. I now have whole app conversations with people who do not speak a word of English by constantly sending photos of Google Translate to each other. He from Arabic to English and then back from English to Arabic (see photo).
What I mainly worked on is installing fans in the more than 260 Isoboxes. You enter every family and then connect the fan to the electrical box. You see so many cultures and beautiful things in every isobox / house, but you also see the misery and sometimes a bit of history of these people. What I find very special is that although they get three meals a day, which is actually not enough, these people still want to offer you half a meal, tea or a soda because they are grateful to you. This is despite the fact that they have very little to almost nothing. Before you know it, you're drinking tea with five children on your lap and you have to apologise that you really want to go back to work.
What in one way or another has impressed me a lot, is that I came to an isobox / house and there was a woman with dark hair and a child. I could see the war and misery in her eyes. When I started installing, she put on Bob Dylon's Knocking On Heaven's Door on her phone and before I knew it we were singing along together. She is sitting on the ground with her child and I are installing the fan.
This is a moment that I will never forget and I will have to think about her for the rest of my life.
There is so much more to tell but that will be in the next update;)
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