Hi everybody,

From February 3rd to 12th I’m travelling to refugee camp Kara Tepe on Lesbos to do volunteer work. I don't want to show up empty handed so I’m raising money to support the desperate need for medical care, food and housing to help everyone who lives there survive the harsh winter.

Wait, what is Kara Tepe?

Kara Tepe is one of the main refugee camps on Lesbos, which is at the forefront of the refugee crisis in Europe. Thousands of people still arrive on the island every day in small rubber boats and unstable larger wooden boats. Over 700.000 have passed through the Greek island last year. Refugees reach the shore soaked to the skin; often hypothermic and in deep shock.
Kara Tepe started as a gateway camp, but it is slowly turning into a permanent settlement for many of the refugees that end up there. Living conditions are dire, which is even more problematic during the current harsh winter.

OK, so what will I be doing there?

Half of my time I’ll be working together with the organisation ‘Movement On The Ground’, helping to prepare and distribute meals for everyone in the camp, plus we’ll be hosting activities for the hundreds of young children.

Secondly, I’ll be helping to set up a number of projects that offer structural long term support together with teachers and student from Communication & Multimedia Design at the Hogeschool van Amsterdam. We’ll help the organisations in the camp to digitize their administration and start working on a digital platform to help people in the camp exchange skills and services to help build a local micro economy.

What’s happening with the raised money?

Due to the harsh winter in Lesbos, there is a desperate need for immediate care and protection from the elements. The raised money will be spent on providing shelter, medical care, water, food and consistent transport of donated goods. 

This is handled by the organisation Movement on the Ground, which was started by a group of Dutch volunteers. They’re lean, efficient and have a strong ‘niet lullen maar poetsen’ mentality to make sure each donated euro has maximum impact. To read more about them, check them out here: http://movementontheground.com/

What's in it for you?

First of all, it's a chance for you to make a tangible difference in this huge humanitarian crisis, but secondly, as a little thank you, the person who donates the most will win an exclusive night out with me! I’ll take you out for dinner and drinks and I’ll make sure you’ll have an epic evening. So if you want to make a difference or you feel a strong urge to have a beer with me, this is your chance.

Short on cash? No problem!

Short on cash? That’s fine, you can help out tremendously by sharing this in your own network as well, helping to get the word out is equally valuable as making a donation.

Thanks everyone!

Thanks for reading through this, all help is much appreciated!