Following his hard work in Calais, Marlow born volunteer Dom Ford has undertaken a new project, this time on the other side of Europe.
Based in Greece, OADW is a new project designed for the distribution of clothing with Dom coordinating the receipt of donations to the warehouse that supplies the OADW. After a month overseas, he has sent MRA the following update…
I’ve now spent a few weeks here on the Greek island of Chios, working for Offene Arme, as the new warehouse coordinator.
Given the covid situation, the more direct route wasn’t open so I had to fly to Budapest, wait 12 hours, get another flight to Athens, get tested immediately upon arrival, stay in a hotel room until the test was returned, receive the results, take a third and final flight to Chios, and finally quarantine for a further 5 days.
Eventually, after all that, I was able to start work.
It’s been an incredibly stressful time for NGOs all over the world. Most volunteers have gone home, so organisations are woefully understaffed, whilst necessary covid-19 precautions add to the workload of those remaining.
Those of the OA team that have stayed here decided to start a new project, and move away from emergency response as needs and priorities evolved.
This project is referred to as the OA Distribution Warehouse, and acts as a kind of free shop. Beneficiaries can visit and take up to a set number of clothes for free, depending on their age and gender.
This way of distributing clothes gives people more freedom to choose what they actually want to wear, rather than adopting a get what you’re given approach.
Although the project only recently started, and the entire team has worked tirelessly to get it moving, we are hopeful everyone in the nearby Vial camp will be able to visit before September.
Donations are normally brought over in large containers – yesterday 2 Swiss men had driven for 3 days to get here!! However, although there have been a few donations that have made it to us, there is a massive shortage of clothes fit for summer, mainly due to covid-19.
Still, I’m excited to see how this project will turn out, and how the organisation will adapt to best serve the beneficiaries. As restrictions are relaxed, hopefully volunteers will start to return!!