Samos Volunteers is the largest volunteer organization left on the Greek island of Samos, filling in the gaps left by authorities and big NGOs. The camp on Samos was build for a maximum population of 700 people. Currently, it is accommodating around 4,000 people. Although accommodating is a big word. The living conditions are dire, while men, women and children are compelled to live and wait there for months or even years on end. 

Samos Volunteers (SV) runs a community centre near the camp, where people can find safety and shelter. We offer a space where people can come in, drink a cup of tea, play chess, read a book, or simply chat with friends. We work hard to instill humanity in a place that seems to be so void of it, by giving everyone a hand and a smile, and learning and remembering one name at the time. Our community centre on Samos gets around 400 visits on a daily basis, from men, women and children, from all different corners of the world.

Besides safety and warmth, people can find distraction from the heartbreaking daily realities that come with living in the refugee camp on Samos. We offer informal language classes, giving people the opportunity to learn English, German, French, Greek and Spanish, and computer classes where people can develop their IT skills. Besides educational activities, we organize a number of recreational projects: from art to breakdance, and from music to fitness.  But that's not all.

Besides our psychosocial mission, we have recently opened a laundry station in collaboration with Medecins sans Frontieres (who have unfortunately had to end their mission on Samos in March). The laundry station allows us to provide over 1,100 people per month with clean clothes and blankets, a 'luxury' previously unavailable to anyone living in the camp. Due to the dreadful hygiene situation in the camp, bed bugs and scabies are spreading like wildfire. Though infestations that are generally relatively easy to combat, there seemed to be no cure on Samos. With the laundry station we hope to give people back some dignity, and improve the hygiene situation in the camp. 

Last but not least, we have opened a Legal Centre, where volunteer lawyers can provide sessions and help prepare asylum seekers for their asylum interviews. 

Your donation is used to keep all of these projects going. We use it to pay rent; purchase tea, washing powder, notebooks; and much more. Thanks to you, we are able to provide sustainable relief to asylum seekers stuck on Samos.