Ardfern’s Arabian night raises funds for refugees
THE DAYS are getting cold and short, but one Ardfern woman is helping brighten the late autumn gloom with a rich Middle Eastern glow.
Pam Gregory is a volunteer with a charity which helps refugees landing on the Greek island of Samos – just two kilometres off the Turkish coast and the first landfall for many leaving via Turkey.
On Saturday November 25, Pam hosted a well-attended Arabian dinner at her Ardfern home to raise funds for the charity, Samos Volunteers.
A delighted Pam said: ‘We managed to raise a magnificent £980, which will buy a lot of waterproof ponchos, blankets and pop up tents for all the refugees who are currently under siege by horrendous winter weather conditions on the island.’
Samos Volunteers is the only volunteer group supporting around 2,500 refugees living in and around a camp on the island.
The charity aims to foster a sense of normality and combat boredom, while empowering people as they wait for their asylum applications to be processed.
Informal educational activities and recreational projects are organised for both children and adults.
Pam, aged 71, has always had an interest in working with refugees and this year decided to work with Samos Volunteers. She told the Advertiser: ‘I didn’t think they would accept me due to my age but there was no problem and we were a very diverse group of volunteers in October – 21 nationalities – but everyone communicating in English and forming a very close bond.
‘The hours are long – six days a week – and you could find yourself teaching English to young mums the second day after you’ve arrived.
‘Work varies from teaching English, French, German, Greek or music, to sorting clothes in the warehouse; doing long and hot tea shifts in the camp where there is only one tap for 2,500 people; doing activities with the kids; crafts with their mums; and break dancing and karate for the young unaccompanied minors under 18 (orphans to you and me).
‘Every week is different and new activities are being planned all the time, depending on the skill sets of the volunteers.’
Winter has now descended on Samos, however, and conditions in the camp are desperate. The charity needs all the hands-on help it can get. Camp conditions are becoming increasingly dangerous and unhygienic as many people have to stay for long periods – often waiting more than a year for asylum applications to be processed.
The challenges are clear, but Pam remains enthusiastic.
She continued: ‘You don’t need any particular skills to become a volunteer – just a passionate interest in helping people in this situation and the leisure to be able to commit a month of your time.’
To find out more about Samos Volunteers, go to the samosvolunteers.org website.
And keep an eye open for your chance to enjoy another fundraising Arabian night of cuisine courtesy of Pam and coming up in February.