As many of you may know, I've been volunteering for the organisation, Samos Volunteers, in Greece for almost 16 months now. In a small refugee camp built for 700 people, there live almost 4,000. Currently, we are running a community centre, a laundry station, a legal advice centre, children's activities and a mobile library, with 35 volunteers including community volunteers from the camp.

At the moment, boats of people are washing up on the shores of Samos everyday. The camp management ran out of tents a couple of weeks ago, so hundreds of people are now sleeping in the open air. All of the facilities, services and resources are stretched - including ours. We have never experienced such a large number of refugees on Samos in the last 2 years. We want to be able to continue running as many of our activities as possible to give those fleeing war, oppression, persecution, the dignified entrance into Europe that they deserve.

The Alpha Community Centre has become a life-line for so many. It is the only place on Samos where refugees can find peace and comfort, where they are given a hand and a smile, and where their names are learned and remembered. People get the opportunity to sit back and relax, chat to friends in the comfort of a safe space, or play a challenging game of chess or scrabble, all while enjoying a warm cup of tea. The laundry station allows people to have clean, dry clothes - a luxury we all take for granted. And the legal centre, run by legal counsellors from Berlin, is giving people the basic right of free legal assistance to prepare them for their asylum interviews.

With the number of daily visitors we now have, it is becoming increasingly difficult to sustain our projects and activities. Please consider helping us out this winter in keeping the Centre running! For more details about our monthly running costs, you can see a breakdown on our website: https://samosvolunteers.org/donations

Lots of love, Jasmine. x