Meet Ernest!
Ernest has been with OHF for 2 years – and he has been in the security team the whole time. “Why would I change? I like it!” he says. “I like to be the first person people meet at the entrance to OHF. We are not only responsible for making everyone feel safe, but we are also making sure everyone feels welcomed and guide them to the service at OHF they are looking for”.
Ernest, who came to Lesvos from Burundi, had not been many days on the island before he started searching for something to do. “I like to be busy and active. It gives me energy. When I had been in my tent for one week, I started thinking ‘what can I do? I don’t want to stay in a tent from morning to evening’. So, I walked around and asked everyone I met. On my way back from Mytilini I saw a sign for ‘One Happy Family’. I did not know what kind of place it was, but I went to the gate and asked if any help was needed. The next day I started as a volunteer”.
Back in Burundi, Ernest was a tourist guide. If you find him at OHF and want to see him smile, just ask him to describe the waterfalls, mountains, animal life, or beaches in Burundi, and you will for sure hear a good story and start dreaming about it too.
“In the future, I would like to be a tourist guide again. Or to keep working with something that will help other people. This is also why I like being at OHF so much. We never know who we will help tomorrow – every day there are new people and new kinds of things they are looking for. OHF is like the internet: You can find all sorts of information here. We have people from all kinds of backgrounds, and always someone will have the answer or try to help. And like the internet, OHF connects people with each other”
Thank you so much for all of your stories and beautiful descriptions of One Happy Family. We’re so happy to enjoy your company and work for this long.