Life at the heart of the refugee situation

• Food Lines

• Social Care

• Distributions

• Warehouse

• Information Point

• Children's Education & Activities

• New Arrivals

• Community Engagement

• Education for Adults

• Hospital & Supermarket Rides

• Maintenance & Building Projects

• Food Lines • Social Care • Distributions • Warehouse • Information Point • Children's Education & Activities • New Arrivals • Community Engagement • Education for Adults • Hospital & Supermarket Rides • Maintenance & Building Projects

Working in Camps. And beyond.

The temporary camp Mavrovouni on Lesvos and the new “closed controlled access center” Zervou on Samos are very different. Correspondingly, our work in each place is also diverse in nature.

After the fire in September 2020, a new temporary camp on Lesvos was built and has developed a lot in the past years. Currently (July 2024), less than 1000 people live in different types of shelter units, but numbers are always going up (to 5000 in summer 2023) and down. We are involved, among other things, in foodlines, building, and maintenance projects. We also run a non-formal education program as well as extracurricular activities for children, welcome New Arrivals and provide clothes, hygiene and other basic items. Our work has always been very hands-on and sometimes hectic but has been shifting recently as needs in the camp change. Since 2021, we see a shift towards more community engagement and are developing this area more.
On any given day, our team of international volunteers consists of about 70 people.

The camp and the work on Samos are very different. In September 2021, the new CCAC “Closed Controlled Access Center” was opened, and most physical needs of the residents were met. With a population of about 2500 (July 2024), we concentrate on building a culture inside the camp and creating environments where residents can feel safe and be seen, heard, and valued. We offer a safe space for women, gymnastics and handcrafts as well as activities such as sports, education (informal), games and arts. We also run a sewing center, a free clothes shop and a library.
As you apply with us, you can choose between volunteering on Lesvos, Samos, or “either.”

Even after we ended our immediate disaster response that we were involved in after the February 2023 earthquake, we are continuing to look into ways to serve in Türkiye.

As one of few NGOs registered to work in the government-run refugee camps in Greece, we are currently exploring ways of serving there.

Services & Volunteer Roles

Food Lines

Once a day we have teams of volunteers who help distribute food to the camp residents on Lesvos through three food line stations. It’s a great opportunity to connect with the camp residents.
Social Care

Supporting vulnerable people is another important role of Eurorelief in the camp on Lesvos. Specialized volunteers visit vulnerable residents of the camp, such as survivors of Gender Based Violence or people with medical vulnerabilities and aim to connect them with available services.
Distributions

On Lesvos, Eurorelief plays a big role in the distribution of Non-Food Items, both to newly-arrived asylum seekers as well as the other residents. We have ongoing distributions of clothing and hygiene items and based on needs-assessments, we organise (seasonal) distributions.
On Samos, we provide the first set of clothes to New Arrivals and help run a clothes shop in camp. Sometimes we help with special distributions, such as hygiene items or cleaning supplies.
Warehouse

The work in our off-site Warehouse is the core of our logistic operations on Lesvos. Large volumes of donations from partner organizations as well as supplies which are purchased through private donations are received, sorted, and packed, before being delivered to the camp to be distributed to the people.
Information Point

Both on Lesvos and on Samos, Eurorelief has an information point in the heart of the camp. On Lesvos, we assist with a variety of issues, requests and tasks. We work together with the camp authorities, support organizations and residents.
On Samos, we provide information about our own services, the services of other NGOs and receive residents for games, arts, coffee and tea.
Children’s Education & Activities

On Lesvos, a team of teachers and teacher assistants provide non-formal education for children age 3 – 18. We work with a trauma informed curriculum specifically catered to our needs in camp that puts the focus on the children feeling safe and loved. We also send volunteers on “literacy outreach” to do English reading and conversation exercises with the children, which often draws in the parents as well.
New Arrivals

New refugees who are taken to Mavrovouni camp on Lesvos stay in a special holding area (New Arrivals) while they await registration. It is our responsibility to welcome these newcomers in the New Arrivals area, make sure they are provided with a set of clothing, a hygiene kit and sleeping gear, and to help them get comfortable in their new temporary accommodation.
Community Engagement & Education for Adults

In all our sites, we offer safe spaces to “just hang out”, training opportunities and activities. This area and our involvement is changing constantly. In Mavrovouni, it may take the form of a Men’s Skill area and women’s cosmetics classes. On Samos, it may be volleyball tournaments and a safe space with board games and crafts for women. Moria Academy offers vocational training for refugees seeking employment in Greece.
Hospital and Supermarket Rides

On Samos, we provide transportation for the vulnerable camp population to their hospital appointments in town as well as rides to a nearby discounter for their regular grocery shopping.
Maintenance & Building projects

We can normally use a number of skilled and experienced volunteers (carpentry, plumbing, car repairs) to help fix broken shelter units, bikes or other items in camp, as well as for larger, more specified building projects. Whenever possible, we involve community volunteers in these projects, building truly cross-cultural teams.
Volunteer Office and Administration

We do not only need volunteers in camp! We need administratively gifted people in our off-camp office. The admin team is the engine that allows for the work we do in camp through the processing of volunteer applications, corresponding with applicants, dealing with databases and handling inquiries, just to name a few.
Member Care

We have a Member Care Team made up of seasoned, experienced long-term volunteers who look after the needs of our volunteers. This team of people do trainings and debriefs, provide a listening ear and look after the well-being of our volunteers. They are stationed on both Lesvos and Samos.
Library

Together with our Community residents, we run libraries both on Lesvos and Samos, offering computers for asylum seekers to work, as well as books in English and the residents’ original languages.