Keep the Light On.

As Lighthouse Relief marks ten years of continuous support for people seeking refuge, we launched Keep The Light On—a sustainability initiative aimed at securing long-term impact. This campaign is mobilising international support, raising awareness of our mission, and ensuring we can continue providing consistent, dignified assistance. To commemorate this milestone, we returned to our roots in Skala Sikamineas, Lesvos—where our work began during the height of the refugee crisis—and organised a symbolic beach clean to honour the community spirit and solidarity that shaped our early response.

Our community engagement efforts have expanded further through sport. In collaboration with a local Greek football club, we’ve facilitated twice-weekly football sessions in Chalkida for young men from Ritsona Camp. These sessions offer valuable moments of integration and social connection beyond the camp. Thanks to Kits for the World, participants received football boots, allowing them to engage fully in the game. A special highlight was a visit from John Bankole Kamara, a former Sierra Leonean international, whose presence provided encouragement and inspiration.

With growing insecurity in camps, the need for safe spaces is more urgent than ever. In partnership with Refugym, we’ve continued offering trauma-informed women’s and children’s sessions at the Sama Community Centre, featuring yoga, dance, sports, jewellery-making, and self-defense workshops led by EmpowerVan. These activities help build confidence, community, and emotional resilience, while our team supports children through supervised and creative play. In addition, we held our first clothing distribution event at Sama, meeting urgent material needs of the community.

To support overlooked groups like families and single men, we launched a Summer Camp at Sama, operating three times a week and offering sports, creative workshops, language classes, and meals provided by Project Armonia. Our growing team of volunteers has been vital in delivering these programmes. Recent sport-based self-fundraising events in Greece and abroad—including a symbolic run from Ritsona to Malakasa Camp and a ten-hour solidarity walk by our Chair—highlight how community-driven efforts can sustain and amplify our impact.

Numbers 

From June onwards, Lighthouse Relief has welcomed 129 individual participants to our football sessions for a total of 356 participants. Our safe space sessions for women and children welcomed 100 individual participants (44 women, 56 children), and 147 total visitors since July.  We were joined by 120 individual participants in our Summer Camp (90 adults, 30 children), supporting approximately 1,523 adults and children throughout the month of August. The total attendance across all our sessions (June to mid-September) exceeded 2,000.

Testimonials

Two examples of recent feedback from female attendees: one woman expressed her heartfelt gratitude for our dedication and compassion in helping refugees. She was inspired by the team’s perseverance and genuine care for others, highlighting that it was a shining example of empathy, strength, and humanity.  Another woman, after one of the self-defense classes, mentioned that they really enjoyed spending their time at the Sama Community Centre.