Newsletter EN

Another year ends with sad facts

A monster of a refugee centreIt is one year since the first closed controlled centre on the island of Samos opened. Funded by the EU with 43 million euros, the centre is intended to be a model for other reception structures. Looking like a prison from the outside, with fences and x-ray scanners at the

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Busy OHF needs your support

Advent Crowdfunding: 25 days, 25,000 for OHF2022 has been an exciting year that has brought many changes. OHF moved to Athens: we said goodbye to Lesvos and built a new community centre in the Greek capital. Soon after its opening, it became clear that there was a great need for such a place, both from

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Building update

We’ve made a few changes to the layout of the Community Centre and given it a fresh lick of paint! The OHF team and our partner organisations all came together on the 5th and 6th of November for a weekend of heavy lifting and painting to rejig our space and make things easier and more

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Welcome back, Hadi!

Meet Hadi! Hadi started as a community volunteer a couple of weeks ago and has already had such a huge impact on both the OHF team and our beneficiaries. Originally working as a volunteer teacher at the International School of Peace at OHF on Lesvos, Hadi is now helping specifically with community outreach and involvement

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A doctor on holiday

Meet Krisha! Krisha has just left us after having spent 3 weeks volunteering for OHF and we can’t believe how quickly the time passed! As a doctor back in the UK, Krisha (in true doctor spirit) chose to spend her 3-week break from work continuing to help others… how she finds the time we don’t

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Socks and olive oil are back: order now!

The One Happy Family Safe Passage socks are back and now available to order!If this year you’re looking for a Christmas present with a twist, why not get your loved ones (or yourself!) a pair of our colourful Safe Passage socks (available in two designs)? Order can be made here.  Our popular and very tasty

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Podcast and movie

Tödliche Politik an Europas Grenzen – SRF Podcast (only in German) Netflix released “The Swimmers”, the story of refugee sisters that landed in Greece

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We grieve and stand in solidarity

ShipwrecksOur hearts are, once again, broken for those involved in the two fatal shipwrecks which occurred on the night of Wednesday to Thursday, 6th of October 2022 off the coast of Lesvos and Kythera. A total of at least 27 dead have been recovered, but people are still missing. We grieve for the lives lost

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Take care of each other and ourselves

Mental healthOn the 10th of October we celebrated the world’s mental health day. Caring for our mental health can be difficult at the best of times. Often, our lives are so full of varying stresses, responsibilities and alternative focuses that caring for our own mental health, and that of those around us, can drop to

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Always there when you need him

Meet Lars! Lars just left OHF after volunteering with us for 3 weeks. Either in the cafe, at the welcome desk or on the rooftop, Lars was always around to help wherever someone was needed! When asked about why he decided to come to OHF, Lars said: ‘I wanted to get an insight into the

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