By Niv Rabino & Guy Shrayer | Heads of Mission
On the Island of Lesbos
Lesbos is the island where the work of IsraAID Greece started in September 2015. Today, the dramatic first months in 2015 when thousands of refugees and migrants were arriving every day feels far away - these refugees and migrants are now stuck in camps and shelters with little knowledge of what the future holds.
Just a few months ago, IsraAID started working in a medical clinic in one of the camps on the island. IsraAID's Arabic speaking team of nurses and doctors is working in the clinic and other settings on the Island.
At Kara Tepe, the second biggest camp on the Island, IsraAID has become a major health actor, as well as a focal point for the community at the camp. Due to our staff's ability to speak the language and example cultural similarity to the population, our medical services were beyond providing medical services and we would approach the care in a holistic manner, with psychosocial services as well.
On the island, IsraAID is also responding to new arrivals coming on boats with medical and psychosocial teams ready to receive the newcomers on the shore. To make our medical services even more comprehensive, we also conducted health education sessions in both Kara Tepe and Caritas Shelter.
Our mission is to continue to assess and find out innovative ways to provide the best care and fill in the greatest needs for this vulnerable population.
Exciting news from Northern Greece
IsraAID just started three month of early education training for women groups - training the future kindergarten teachers of the camp! IsraAID's staff provides the training and every three weeks we are doing one intensive week with a professional in child education. In the end of the training they will get a certificated from Al Qasemi college in Israel which will help them integrate into the labor market in their new destination. This is also a tool to empower the woman and to help them understand their children better after many years that they lived without any framework or education.
In the four camps IsraAID is working in in Northern Greece, we also do women, men and youth support groups, some formal and some informal. Our Arabic speaking professionals quickly gain the people’s trust as they speak their language and knows their culture.
One day, we took the youth group in one of the camps for a day trip to the beach where they arrived in the rubber boats in 2015 or 2016, as part of their healing process and we are doing weekly activities to help them think about their future and how they can fulfill their dreams.
We are grateful for the support you have given IsraAID in Greece and we wish for your continued help to ensure that IsraAID's work can go on, now more important than ever. Organizations and aid workers have started to leave Greece as the world has turn its eyes elsewhere. IsraAID is still there - donate now to help us stay and continue our work!
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