Alumni Sarah Aleysha Jabir and Clio Chin, both from the GIS Class of 2015, are currently based near a refugee camp in Samos, Greece. They are working with Refugee 4 Refugees, an NGO that aims to improve the quality of life and living conditions for refugees.
Sarah and Clio explain:
“For the next 2 weeks, we will be working with Refugee 4 Refugees, a non-political group at the forefront of the humanitarian crisis that addresses the needs of refugees, predominantly from the Middle East and Sub-Saharan Africa. We are currently based near a refugee camp in Samos, a Greek island bordering Turkey, with over 4000 refugees.
While 700 refugees are currently living in UN camps, over 3000 are currently living in make-shift tents in the ‘jungle’, exposed to snakes, rodents and water-borne diseases. Conditions in the camp are inhumane: there is severe overcrowding, a lack of hygiene and barely any sustainable infrastructure or basic necessities. Coupled with wide-spread disease and a lack of access to education and healthcare, the situation at the camp is nothing short of alarming.
While we have constantly heard about this in the news and have almost been desensitized to it – but seeing first-hand how disastrous the conditions are, and speaking to many refugees about the struggles they endure, has made us realize how significant this crisis truly is. We would love to make a larger impact while we are here, and truly hope that all of you can help us.
Therefore, we are kindly asking for donations that can help the organization lessen the strain on resources and improve the conditions in the refugee camp. Even the smallest of donations will help. We have spoken to the coordinators to ensure that donations will be spent on the resources needed the most in the camp – in particular, clothing for single males, diapers and sanitary pads.
We will try our best to constantly update everyone regarding the journey of said proceeds and any further information about the camp through photos and stories online.
Thank you so much for all your help, we truly do appreciate it, especially after having seen how much of an impact this organisation is having on so many refugees!”
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If you would like to support Sarah and Clio’s humanitarian work by donating to Refugee 4 Refugees, please visit their GoFundMe page: https://www.gofundme.com/f/refugee4refugees-donation?member=2637374
In addition, they would love to raise awareness of the organisation and the amazing work being done to support refugees in these challenging conditions. So, please share their GoFundMe campaign page & like/follow the Refugee 4 Refugees page to help spread awareness of their wonderful work. Thank you!
