The first thing that often comes to mind when people think about Lesvos are the beautiful beaches and the sunny summers. But winters can be extremely cold- a challenge for us to help get the people on Lesvos through this difficult season!
In the time that we were first present on Lesvos, in 2015, it was probably the harshest winter, with quite a lot of snow. Our sports coordinator Tanja explains, “Due to the high humidity, 0 degrees feels like -10! On top of that, the snow that falls is wet snow, which creates ice cold mud pools on the hills.”
“Winterization, as we call it, is always an important project which consists of activities in the Netherlands as well as on Lesvos which we anticipate and work on months before,” says Bart-Jan, our current Coordinator on Lesvos. “As everyone probably knows, we did a massive winter donation campaign together with Because We Carry, which resulted in thousands of winter jackets and shoes. We distributed these as well as extra blankets throughout the Olive Grove, Kara Tepe and Moria.”
“We can obviously use all the help we can get, and have partnerships with some companies that are extremely valuable. A good example is Degree-N, which provides us a great discount on their innovative nano technology heating panels which we installed together with our residents.”
“All in all, winter is a difficult time for everyone currently residing on Lesvos, but residents and volunteers together are working, shoulder to shoulder, to make the best out of the situation, as we always do.
Luckily, even though times can be harsh, we can still find the energy and spirit to have a dance and a laugh together, as we did when we distibuted the winter items a couple of weeks ago (see video)."
We're obviously constant improving the living conditions on Lesvos, and are already thinking about summerization, when we have completely different problems to solve. Together, we'll figure it out. Stay tuned!