Humanity Crew

Since November 2015 we have worked in camps, shorelines, ports, and the local hospital in the city of Mytilene, and mainly at Lesvos Solidarity - PIKPA Camp, which became the core of our fieldwork activity in 2016. Later, as a response to the EU-Turkey deal, we expanded our work to the north to Diavata Camp, Elpída Center, and Floxenia Housing Project on the outskirts of Thessaloniki in mainland Greece. In addition to our work at the camps, we ran significant emergency work during the height of the refugee crisis. We also initiated several emergency operations. These included work on-board rescue boats of our partners Proactiva Open Arms, mental health mobile clinics on shores and ports, and our work with hospital staff once refugees were referred there.
Our work in Greece included activities we held for children and adults. We tailored detailed activities to contribute to the resilience of the refugees, prevent the deterioration of their mental health, and enhance the communal empathy and support mechanisms. The activities, implemented by a team of native Arabic speaking mental health professionals and well-trained volunteers, support the refugees’ recovery by empowering them with tools and skills to cope with the traumas they have endured. They conducted daily activities for children that included recreational activities and non-formal educational activities. We led weekly activities for adults that included crisis intervention for individuals and families in need, as well as support group sessions which included gender and age sensitive groups for men, women and teenagers. From these group sessions, we were then able to earmark particularly vulnerable cases which we later treated on an individual case by case basis. We also conducted dyadic activities for infants and their primary caregivers. Furthermore, our team often assisted with translation and interpretation between other professionals and the refugees since our culture and language gave us an added benefit.