Lifejackets, who knew?

Yesterday I was in Pikpa, a camp that is currently hosting refugees who are in a vulnerable state and cannot continue their travels right away, i.e. pregnant women, children, older adults and people with disabilities. It is also a place where families can wait to be reunited. The camp itself is located just outside Mytilini, steps away from the coast. Currently there are about 40 people staying there and we were told their capacity is about 150; as the weather gets colder they are hoping to move more people to Pikpa from Moria.

As I said, the weather here is getting colder. Yesterday there was a high of 6 degrees and the temperatures went below freezing last night. With the temperatures dropping so low, there is a large concern for those staying at Moria as there is little shelter and most people are sleeping on the ground. Fire wood is expensive and last we heard, Moria was burning up to 3 truck loads of wood a night. As there is a lack of wood some nights, the refugees started to burn anything they can find to stay warm. Volunteers are trying to encourage refugees to stay awake at night and sleep during the day when the sun is out and it’s warmer; but as you might imagine this is hard to explain, especially with the language barrier.

Yesterday, a fellow volunteer came up with the idea to attached lifejackets with zip-ties to create a sort of mattress that would allow people to have some kind of insulation from the cold ground. 

After making a few prototypes and sending them to Moria, we were given the OK to make more with great enthusiasm. In total we made about 50 and are set up to make several more today. The residents of the camp also started helping and came up with ideas on how to improve the design. The collective effort was really wonderful and you could tell the sense of pride the residents had in being able to help. Even the children got involved and despite the harsh wind and overcast, people were laughing and smiling as we strung the jackets together. As lifejackets are often discarded along the coast, volunteers have been driving around to gather them and have started bringing them to Pikpa.

There are other projects that are currently underway. Using the inside of the lifejackets and the lining of the dinghies that are used to bring people to shore, one woman made a prototype of a mattress that is several inches above the ground. The foam lining of the jackets are being rolled up and laid flat side by side and then being covered with the plastic from the dinghies. The foam is also being used to create insulation walls to hang in the tents as the wind is powerful and makes it seem much colder than it actually is.

Another woman has taken the outer shell of the lifejackets that have been stripped and has started sewing together bags and purses out of them. The hope is that with donations she can get more sewing machines and begin selling the bags to raise money for the camp. There is also talk of getting some of the refugees involved so that they can take the bags with them as well as develop a marketable skill to have in the future.

As nothing goes to waste, the scraps of the inner lining of the jackets are going to be used as an insulation layer on the ground in the 50 tents that were donated by Lush Cosmetics, headed for Moria today.

Pikpa is also the place where meals are made for people staying at Moria. Last night we packed almost 900 containers of rice, carrots and onions that were quickly transported off to Moria.

As it’s the 31st tonight, there is a party going on at Pikpa, as well as another camp for New Year’s. To be honest, I’m not sure I’ll manage to stay awake that long so I’ll just wish everyone a Happy New Year now.

See you all in 2016.