This is an update sent to us by one of our Greece mission volunteers. His next post will be posted immediately after this, with photos taken just yesterday.

 

11/29/2015

Hi all,

Lively day today with lots of boats. It was the first time that the new team was all together. The first boat that we met was along the road to Scala. The weather was beautiful but the refugees came ashore wet and shivering.

We then went farther down the road where other boats were arriving but there were plenty of volunteers there. As we were about  turn around and head to the harbor, our Greek lifeguard friends shouted, “Stop that car!” A small pickup was leaving the scene and we gave chase. It was some locals who had stolen a refugee’s backpack. We overtook and stopped them and the lifeguards gave them a tongue lashing.

The bulk of our day was spent working two groups brought to the harbor by the Coast Guard. Their boats were taking  water so of course they were soaked. One guy had been in the water alone for over an hour and was found by chance.

The end of the day was spent with a shift at Oxy camp but Nick and Olivia just saw a couple of kids there with Tarek translating. We filled the time until the end of the shift sorting meds.

Regardless of the agreement with Turkey we don’t expect things to quiet down…

That’s all for now

Brian

With almost all of our focus on the tragedy of the refugees trying to get to Europe, and SCM’s efforts to help those that arrive in Greece, it would be easy to forget there are others in need in the region. But we haven’t forgotten. In Jordan we are continuing our distribution of humanitarian goods and supplies with the help of local organizations, churches, and mosques.

Recently we teamed with the National Association of Special Needs in Amman to distribute hygiene kits, toys, and some clothing to the people they are helping – children and adults with special needs from all over the region: they are Jordanian, Palestinian, Iraqi, and Syrian. We just wanted to let people know that even though we are focusing on Greece right now, we continue to provide aid in Jordan. We will have another container going to Jordan in a couple weeks that will be taking more supplies for the refugees in Jordan. Warm clothes and blankets, socks, hats, mittens, toys, baby supplies, and medical supplies.

Many of you may remember fourteen year-old Raya, who recently volunteered at our Malki Children’s Center in Amman with her mother Lena Tuffaha! She spent the day assisting our Malki team with various aspects of our program, including art and sand therapy. During her time there, she learned of the struggle many children face to get to the center once they are accepted into our program. We do have a school bus we rent monthly, however many children live outside of reach from the bus routes and simply cannot afford to dedicate money towards reaching our center through public transportation. This is especially problematic for children living in a few of the camps that are difficult to reach.

When Raya returned to Seattle, she decided to buy the children at our Malki Center a school bus! She has been working tirelessly to raise awareness and funds for this cause. So far, she has been able to reach 75% of her goal. You can learn more of her fundraising efforts here. We couldn’t be more proud of Raya! We are blown away by her dedication to SCM and the children at our Malki Center. SCM believes every child fleeing from traumatic experiences deserves the opportunity to enter a program where they can heal, regain their innocence, and begun to grow emotionally in a safe environment. We are so grateful for supporters like Raya, who believe the same!