Greece
Stand With Refugees
Headwaters Relief, specifically their psychosocial and medical team, were invited to join Adventist Help and Do Your Part to assist them in the refugee camp in Inofyta, Greece. This camp is located in northern Athens. It is run through a cooperative effort provided by the Greek government and the United Nations High Commission for Refugees with support by international relief organizations. The camp, which can house as many as 2,000 refugees, treats individuals with utmost respect and dignity to support them however possible as they are seeking political asylum. The Headwaters team worked in the on-site clinic serving the camp, organizing supplies, assisting in response to inter-camp health issues, while meeting the medical psychosocial needs of residents. An important part of the effort was aimed at helping the camp deal with psychiatric emergencies and to provide therapeutic activities currently not available to camp residents. Team members met with individuals who had been identified as needed possible mental health intervention and support while others engaged children in play therapy.
Headwaters developed a curriculum to train non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working in the camps for refugees. While working in Greece, our team provided medical and psychosocial support to “squats” in Athens, Greece and surrounding areas.
Headwaters has returned several times to Greece and continues to provide support including to the Greek island of Lesbos. Lesbos is located in the northeastern Aegean Sea. It is a short distance from Turkey and one of several Greek islands where hundreds of refugees arrive everyday. Volunteers worked at several camps. One of the camps, Pikpa, was an autonomous community run by volunteers that are built on the principle of solidarity. The camp provides shelter and support for some of the most vulnerable refugees, including people who are disabled, sick, pregnant, and the families of victims lost at sea. Many of the refugees are from Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria. Headwaters also provided support to Moria, also a camp on the island of Lesbos.
Headwaters’ volunteers created Home Is Where The Honey Is, our fifth children’s book. Through storytelling, the book addresses normal emotional responses to disaster while building coping skills and supporting the development of resiliency. Headwaters was able to use the book along with the caregiver’s guide, throughout the island of Lesbos as well as in Athens with a number of partners including the Melissa Project—a coalition of migrant women who helped write the book. Headwaters continues to provide support both in development of training, specifically related to compassion fatigue for organizations on Lesbos and on the mainland. There is an organization that is developing residential services for unaccompanied minors.
Currently, we are working alongside an organization that is developing residential services for unaccompanied minors. We are working in consultation with them on appropriate training and support in this development.
Home Is Where The Honey Is
Headwaters’ volunteers created Home Is Where The Honey Is, our fifth children’s book. Through storytelling, the book addresses normal emotional responses to disaster while building coping skills and supporting the development of resiliency. Headwaters was able to use the book along with the caregiver’s guide, throughout the island of Lesbos as well as in Athens with a number of partners including the Melissa Project—a coalition of migrant women who helped write the book. Headwaters continues to provide support both in development of training, specifically related to compassion fatigue for organizations on Lesbos and on the mainland. There is an organization that is developing residential services for unaccompanied minors.
Our Work in Greece
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