07 April 2016 | Oinofyta, Greece [Victor Hulbert] A memorandum of understanding between the Greek Mission of the Seventh-day Adventist Church and ASI Europe means that Adventist Help, a bus-based medical clinic, is once again ready to help refugees.
“This is a brand new camp set up on the premises of an abandoned factory, designed to host tents for 400 refugees,” states Michael-John Von Hörsten, a medical doctor who was very active during phase 1 of the project. He has been connecting with other volunteers, the charity, ‘Do Your Part’, and the Greek government. Further additional housing in planned within the old factory building that will bring total capactiy for the site to 2,000.
Swiss national, Markus Alt is Project Coordinator for Phase 2 of the Adventist Help project and is already onsite. He is excited that they have access not just to the bus, but also a nearby medical facility that has space for 38 doctors though currently the Greek state can only pay for three, and two of them are dentists. “There is a full-size lab, an x-ray department, eye, ear, heart, dental, gynecology and many more services there, ready to use,” Alt states. His great need is for a constant flow of volunteer helpers as refugees have started to arrive at the camp. For those that cannot volunteer but would like to help, the is also a need for funding to help with fuel, food and accomodation for the resident team members and other essential expenses.
One of the hallmarks of Adventist Help, according to Nybo, is the identity of the project´s core group, “Adventists who keep their corporate and individual identity while mingling with other volunteers, the local community and displaced persons as ones who desire their good, meeting their needs, embracing and sharing God´s love in practical tangible ways, through genuine, self-sacrificing friendship as well as high quality health services and other acts of genuine care.”
While the programme will be under constant review, the MOU runs until the end of 2016 and they will be renewed on an annual basis.
The choice to move from the coast to a new refugee camp comes in the wake of the recent agreement between the Turkish government and the European Union leading to a decrease in the number of refugees arriving in boats, balanced with the closing of the Balkan route leaving many refugees stuck in Greece.
If you would like to volunteer of help Adventist Help then please contact them via their website: http://adventisthelp.org/contact/ or write to greece@adventisthelp.org. [tedNEWS]
tedNEWS Staff: Victor Hulbert, director; Esti Pujic, editor
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