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One Happy Family

July 2019

Situation on Lesvos

Boats are still arriving, and the situation is increasingly tense. The weather is very hot. And There have been fights again in Moria.
So far 41 boats have arrived on Lesvos carrying a total of 1,448 human beings. There are thus 7,394 asylum seekers residing on Lesvos, as of the 26thof June, 2019.

Boat sinking off the coast of Lesvos
Seven human beings drowned trying to reach Lesvos’ coast on a boat carrying more than 60 people. It was reported that two of the victims were children.
Other tragedies happened this month outside Bodrum, Turkey, where several people died as well after their boats capsized, as they were trying to leave Turkey in the direction of Greece.

Sea-rescue is a duty – not a crime!

The captain of the rescue-boat Sea-watch, Carola Rackete, was arrested. She is facing high financial charges as well as years in prison.
Why? Because, after 17 days (!) without permission, with 40 rescued people on board, she decided to enter Italian waters and dock at the harbour of Lampedusa.

The humanitarian Europe needs to react. On a joint action-day on 6th of July, groups all over Europe will show solidarity with the captain, the crew and with all Search and Rescue operations. Together, we need to send a strong sign from the civil society – a sign against criminalisation of sea-rescue operations – a sign against criminalisation of any solidarity actions – a sign for humanity and human rights!
We stand together in solidarity with Carola Rackete! And we demand the democratic European governments to do the same!

Sign the following petitions:
https://www.openpetition.de/petition/online/freiheit-fuer-frau-rackete-freecarola
https://www.change.org/p/when-injustice-becomes-law-resistance-becomes-duty?recruiter=29306496&utm_campaign=signature_receipt&utm_medium=facebook&utm_source=share_petition
Share this video:
https://youtu.be/CuyVD5Ckc5A
Donate to the “Sea-Watch Rechtshilfefonds”
Beneficiary: Sea-Watch Rechtshilfefonds e.V.
IBAN: DE93 4306 0967 1239 3243 00
BIC/SWIFT: GENODEM1GLS

Get in touch with local, national or European politicians and ask them, to publicly demand the immediate “Freilassung” of Carola Rackete.

Inside the projects: Fundraising and Networking

Not Together for the better but Together we're better!

Once a year the Annual Conference of Swiss Development Cooperation is held together with the competition "Together we're better". The Impact Event, organised by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), offers the opportunity to present young and innovative projects, network, and win prizes.
This year we were invited to participate and present our project One Happy Family.
Early in the morning, Fanny, Rohulla, Tamara and Anja made their way to the conference hall in Freiburg. A table and a pinboard were available to present a total of 92 creative and innovative projects. The exchange with other exhibitors was particularly interesting. One task was to answer the burning questions of some project leaders. The One Happy Family group was particularly interested in how the exchange between classic actors of humanitarian work, such as the UNHCR, and young, innovative projects can be promoted, and what we can learn from each other.
After the modest lunch offered by the organizers, we continued with the public annual conference, where numerous visitors took part. There was a discussion about money, sustainability and Swiss values in development cooperation. Nora Wilhelm, from the organisation Collaboratio Helvetica, made an impressive and charismatic appearance. She pointed out that sustainable development must first take place in our heads and that collaboration among all actors in development cooperation is urgently needed if we really want to do something meaningful for the world, instead of boasting about our own projects.
One Happy Family unfortunately did not manage to win one of the prizes. Nevertheless, it was a successful and interesting day in the field of Swiss development cooperation, and the four of us managed to draw the attention of some visitors to our stand - not least because our OHF flag exceeded all stands by far!

#MeetTheFamily: Didar

Our head of security!
After learning from Bruce, our former head of security, for some months, Didar overtook his tasks and fulfilled an important work every day: opening the centre together with the coordination team and organizing the security team of around 15 people: who is where when? Additionally, he was opening the gym (and training there on a regular basis), coordinating the different lines and making sure together with his team that each and everyone feels safe at One Happy Family.

These are Didar's words to you:
"Respect the old when you are young. Help the weak when you are strong. Confess the fault when you are wrong. Because one day in life you will be old, weak and wrong."

Last Friday was Didar's last day at OHF. With smiles and tears in everyone's eyes, we surprised him with a good-bye celebration. He told us that he feels ready to move forward now. He will probably stay on the island and apply for a job as a translator - a skill he developed during his time at OHF.
"When I came to OHF I felt like a child... Now that I leave, I feel like a man"

We are grateful and very happy to have you as part of the family, and thankful for everything you have done for, at, and with OHF.
"Merci beaucoup, mon ami!" (imagine this said with a Congolese accent, this is the way Didar speaks French ;) )

You can see more insights into Didar's life as head of security at OHF on our Instagram account under Story Highlights, security. Follow us at @ohfcommunitycentre.

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"Respect the old when you are young. Help the weak when you are strong. Confess the fault when you are wrong. Because one day in life you will be old, weak and wrong."
Didar, former head of the OHF security team.

News from the Community Centre

Some work done at OHF
This month, after consulting with our visitors and our helpers, we decided to remove the tailor shop and extend the barber's. This was because, as people told us, the need for the barber shop is higher, and the lines to get a number for the barber were always very long. The sewing machines have been given to the makerspace and other organisations.
At the same time, we added a wooden floor in front of the makerspace, so that the bike repair course can be easily done directly next to where the tools are stored.
And thirdly, we finally have a flat and paintedbasketball court.

The Nest
But the most beautiful work done is this: we now have a second floor in our Nest! The kids have thus even more space to play and learn. And it's also a nice spot to hide – our small kids have the opportunity to tuck away a little bit, and be by themselves on our second floor in the Nest. Their happy eyes and smiles show how much they like it.
Day to celebrate the different African cultures
Even though most the Moria camp residents are from Afghanistan, more and more people from many different African countries are arriving on the island – but not many find their way to OHF yet. That’s why we are planning a special day to celebrate the different African cultures at OHF on the 12thof July. We are planning this together with the community leaders and helpers from various African nations, and are expecting a beautiful and colourful day – like we had in 2017 on the Congolese cultural day.
COngo Day 2017
Open volunteer position: Team care responsible
One Happy Family is looking for a Team care responsible on the ground. The project needs a long term volunteer who can take care of the team, manage the communication between the different groups on the ground and balance the skills of the volunteers, and needs of the project.

What are we looking for?
You are at least 24 years old, available to volunteer for three months or more, and you bring relevant experience in the field. You possess excellent English skills, both written and spoken. Ideally, you have a degree in social work, psychology or you are a facilitator, and could start as soon as possible.

What does a Team care responsible do?
  • Introduce volunteers to One Happy Family and sensitise them for working with potentially traumatized persons and different risk groups. After you get to know the project, you might take over the orientation meetings for all the new volunteers on the OHF ground.
  • Provide and facilitate spaces for the wellness and emotional stability of the team.
  • Manage the communication and relations with the volunteers, the coordination team and the helpers team.
  • Manage possible personal conflicts on the ground and any other thing involving volunteers and their situation on the ground.
  • You are the contact person for any volunteer issues related to self-care, secondary traumatisation and burnout. Every week you conduct emotional support meetings for volunteers.
  • Depending on your interests, you will be able to also work in our regular volunteer projects in the community centre or help with other volunteer coordinating tasks.
How to apply?
Please apply on our homepage www.ohf-lesvos.org/en/volunteering (long-term volunteer -> volunteer coordination, and mention that you read this post). For further questions, please send an email to volunteer@ohf-lesvos.org.

Picture of the month

We took the opportunity of the Women’s strike in Switzerland to ask our female coordinators, helpers, volunteers and partners what their messages are concerning women and women’s rights.

Here are two very important messages from women on the OHF ground:
Fifie_Womens rights_with message
Womens space_with message_Womens rights
Impressum
Content: Anja Otth, Jael Tobler
Date: 01.07.2019
One Happy Family | https://ohf-lesvos-org | info@ohf-lesvos.org | @ohflesvos
CH23 0079 0016 9736 1524 7 (CHF) | CH36 0079 0016 9737 1172 2 (EUR)
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