COVID Quarantine at mavrovouni camp
As Katie, co-founder of Eudaimonia Medical Services was showing me around the medical area of the Mavrovouni Refugee Camp “Moria 2” on Lesvos, two new arrivals were brought into the COVID quarantine area.
Although they had only just reached camp, I heard their boat had landed on Lesvos around six days’ ago. It was very likely they’d have had no food or water during that time, hiding scared in the ‘jungle’ - the common term used for forests and rough ground.
As is too often the case for people finally reaching Mavrovouni, the two were completely exhausted.
Katie’s team had been given a heads’ up they were coming and were waiting for them. Two volunteers at the ready with warm, welcoming smiles and pre-prepared packs including some clothes, shoes, hygiene items, bedding and, of course, water and some food.
I both had goosebumps, Katie did too. Both grateful that another two vulnerable young people had made it into fortress Europe and, for today at least, were going to be safe.
Katie’s vision for Eudiamonia is impressive. She’s provided translators at refugee medical appointments, so that people understand what’s happening to them, arranged taxi transport to hospital appointments, paid for medical examinations like MRIs and pet scans and looks after people in quarantine.
She’s recently set up a small team making a big difference in Athens too.
Like nearly everyone helping refugees in Greece, Eudaimonia is suffering from a lack of funding and Katie’s devastated at the reality of having to scale back services.
Today they’re still providing interpreters and looking after the quarantine area but there’s just not enough donations coming in for patient transport or medical examinations and it’s devastating to know this puts people’s lives at risk.
We’ve used your donations supporting Eudaimonia several times. Their team supports human rights and protects people’s physical health and I hope they’re here for the refugee community for a long time to come.
Only when YOU keep donating to our work, can WE keep supporting amazing people like Katie running life-changing projects like Eudiamonia Medical Services. So please donate now and whenever you can.
The “office” aka shed that Eudaimonia base themselves in. Through the hatch you can see the COVID quarantine area. The maximum capacity is 140 people, but it’s already housed 170 before now which is miserable.
The store room where the pre-made welcome packs, such as they are, are packaged and sorted in sizes S-M-L-XL. As well as clothes there’s hygiene packs.
This store is the same as the homes in the isolation area. Each shared by 6-8 people. It was really really hot.