Soa Krummenacher She wanted to travel, but she could not decide where to go. A documentary about Moria made her decide to go to Lesvos. ‘It was not a problem, but the fact that I had so many opportunities in my life stressed me out. What if I didn’t make the right choice? After seeing …

Brigitte Fredriksen As an English teacher, Brigitte Fredriksen decided she wanted to use her education skills somewhere else. Her experience in One Happy Family has moved her and opened her eyes. ‘The people I’ve met in the community center are so open, friendly and welcoming. The daily life of the refugees is so different from …

Elisabeth Tobler, Barbara Aulopi & Alexsandra Hitz Elisabeth Tobler, Barbara Aulopi and Alexsandra Hitz wanted to make the world a little bit better. When they got to know about One Happy Family, they knew this was the right place to volunteer. ‘We feel close to the motto of this community center; not working for, but …

Giulia Berti She wanted to go to Lesvos before, but her family told her not to. It was a friend of Giulia Berti (25) who told her about One Happy Family and made her decide to volunteer at the community center. ‘My family thought it would be too dangerous to work here. But when my …

Sam Salih Sam Salih fled his country from war five years ago. He stayed for two months in Greece, travelled to Italy and eventually was able to get to Germany. Now he finally is in safety, he decided to commit his life to helping others who are stuck in Greece. This is his fourth time …

Dilan Siper I came to Lesvos, because … ‘A feeling of powerlessness overwhelmed me. I am active in a left-wing student group, but because of my study I didn’t have a lot of time to focus on it. Added to this, political work is very frustrating. You put so much effort in it, but you …

Fanny from Switzerland One Happy Family still had to be built, when Fanny Oppler came here for the first time.This was more than a year ago. In March this year, she visited the center for the third time. ‘When I arrived here one year ago, I did a lot of construction work. I painted the …

Eindrücke nach 9 Wochen als Volunteer Koordinatorin Von meinem ersten Aufenthalt im Frühjahr 2016 wusste ich wie intensiv schon ein kurzer Einsatz vor Ort sein konnte. Anderes Land, viele neue Menschen aus verschiedensten Kulturen, mit anderen Mentalitäten, schwierigen und traurigen Vergangenheiten und Geschichten. Auch diesmal stellten sich einige der Freiwilligen ähnliche Fragen wie ich mir: …

Der Tagesablauf ist einfach. Um 8 Uhr klingelt der Wecker, um 9 Uhr wird der Kaffee ins Community Center geliefert. „One happy family“ oder kurz OHF wird der Ort genannt, wo wir arbeiten, leben, uns die Nasen an der Sonne zu verbrennen. Weil wir das grösste Auto haben, haben wir die Ehre jeden morgen ca. …