Samos Volunteers

Samos Volunteers (SV) is a grassroots NGO providing education, psychosocial support and NFIs to displaced people living in Samos, Greece. We arrived on the island in the autumn of 2015, as a response to the escalating crisis. From the beginning, SV supported local residents who provided emergency assistance to the people arriving on the island from Turkey. The group has come a long way since then. We are now a widely recognised and established organisation. SV answers to the needs of the people in the refugee camp in Vathy. As the needs in the camp change frequently, so does our role. For a long time, SV was predominantly involved with the distribution of Non-Food Items. In January 2017 our focus shifted to psycho-social activities. We provide language classes, such as English, German, French and Greek, and organise recreational activities for children, women and men. In May 2017 we opened the doors of our community centre: the Alpha Centre. Having our own location allows us to provide to more people than ever and we will keep expanding, developing and improving. Samos Volunteers is completely privately funded and all of the donations that we receive go directly to the organisation. All of the projects, activities and classes are run by volunteers who are responsible for their personal expenses. As for the number of activities that we run, we generally work with a group consisting of around 30 people, from all different nationalities, age and background. We couldn't do this without them or without you.