Little Lotus Integration Programme

Having lived and worked with refugee children from Moria refugee camp for over three years, we have come to realize that what refugee kids need the most is a chance to integrate into a society that, on its own, does little to welcome them. Given the terrors these children experienced on their journey to Greece, as well as the horrific conditions they are forced to put up with in the camp living in inadequate structures and bearing witness to fights, disease, violence, fire, and rape, the one thing that we can do to support these children is to help them retrieve the childhood is being robbed them of.

Little Lotus' aim is to provide integration and recreational activities for refugee children and unaccompanied minors, bringing them into public spaces and acquainting them with local children.

For too long have refugee and local children been living segregated lives on the island of Lesvos, and we believe that with the right tools and encouragement, children and youth can pave the way for more peaceful dialogues and enriching co-existence to take root at the heart of the island and its community.

Activities include (but are not limited to): educational activities, adventure games, yoga, team sports and tournaments, field trips around the island, arts and crafts, building a treehouse, cooking and potluck lunches / dinners, l dance and music, nature hikes and site tours, and swimming.

Please support us to support these children overcome the traumas they continuously face by providing them a chance to integrate into the island's community and make their voices heard.

If the required funding is achieved, we will be able to run the program daily by providing activities for children in the new camp, unaccompanied minors in shelters, and children living in Mytilini town, reaching 80-100 kids every week.

About the Founder and Coordinator:

Maryam Elika Ansari has been working with refugees and asylum seekers since 2015, in Greece since 2017, and in Lesvos specifically since 2018 in organizations such as Doctors Without Borders, the Danish Refugee Council, the Association for the Social Support of Youth (ARSIS), the International Rescue Committee, Medical Volunteers International and Watershed. She has worked in the capacity of project coordination, team management, communication with communities, health promotion, psychosocial support, community-based development, protection, and children’s mental health. She has experience working with vulnerable children, parents and unaccompanied minors, designing and coordinating psychosocial activities, empowering games, English language, self care and psychoeducation courses. She has Masters degrees in the fields of anthropology, humanities, and social sciences from the universities of St Andrews (Scotland), Leuven (Belgium), Perpignan (France), and Santiago de Compostela (Spain) and she also speaks Farsi/Dari, English, French and Spanish. She is also a writer and a certified yoga teacher.