Lesvos Emergency Blanket Appeal

We Need Blankets for Greece

Please donate to our Emergency Blanket Appeal

Help us to raise £1000 to purchase vital blankets and sleeping bags that we can ship in our aid container leaving for Lesvos on the 21st October.

Please read the information below provided to us from those working on the ground in Lesvos.

"During September a huge increase in arrivals have led to serious overcrowding and a huge deterioration in already poor living conditions for those on the island, particularly in moria where the majority of the refugees live. Thousands are now living in tents that are not suitable for the coming winter. Blankets are being rationed to 1 per person regardless of whether they are sleeping in a cheap summer tent or on a concrete floor, this includes children, the elderly and pregnant women. The weather has begun to get cooler and rain has started, within the next few months we will be looking at a situation similar to last year with many people exposed to the cold and wet with a real possibility of death from exposure or from burning dangerous materials to try and stay warm" - Kini Volunteer

The population on the island is as follows based on official numbers on 30th September 2017:

-Moria 4841 (official capacity 1800)

-Kara Tepe 760 (official capacity 1000)

-Jails 161

-Improved accom 530

-New unregistered 48

-Grand total 6340 souls stranded

"Above is official numbers which are changing depending on which official we ask. According to our experience and findings the number is much higher. We estimate 7500-8000 people on the island" - Aris Vlahopoulos, Atikka

Information given by the Legal Centre is Lesbos:

"Between the 1st and 26th of September 2017, 2,238 people risked their lives crossing the Mytilene Strait from Turkey to Lesvos…Authorities have given estimates that the number of new registrations is over 200 people per day, which is the highest since March 2016… In recent days, tents – which are fundamentally unfit for winter weather or long term accommodation – have been flooded from the rain… In the winter of 2016-2017, in similarly crowded and inhumane conditions at least five people died in the cold in Moria Camp.

Story from a volunteer on the ground:

"A little boy with severe diarrhoea standing in the middle of the courtyard in OHF, seemingly alone. I found the family quite quickly and me and his mum started cleaning him up with just cold water while the wind was howling round us, I sent for some clean clothes and got him wrapped up in fabric to be used for curtains to keep him warm. she sobbed her heart out while we were there. From Syria, about 25, four children - 7,3,1.5 and a tiny baby - Newly arrived, no tent, one blanket each on a concrete floor outside a building in Moria. I took them into the womens space to warm them all up. getting her a buggy this week so she can at least push one of them around. there are pictures of the one blanket situation and flimsy tents that they have been putting new arrivals in. its just heartbreaking"

Please contact us on [email protected] for further information

As a not for profit and run by volunteers all money we raise goes back into sending aid to where it is needed most. Please donate what you can and help us to hit our target and get our container filled with even more blankets.

We are registered with companies house as a Company Limited by Guarantee - Not for Profit - Company number is 10297393