December 7: Things are moving along in our last week.
Sunday. Day off. Tama and I went north to the life jacket graveyard to get life jackets for making bracelets. As we left the Skala skimos, the northern part of the island where refugee rafts generally come in, about 15 minutes north on a dirt road we came across a refugee camp. We were shocked. I got one quick photo [...]
December 1: Hard to sleep, thinking about the pain.
Tuesday triage, a cold evening by the sea. Emotionally challenging due to 2 patients. One a young man, disheveled, clearly suffering. He had deep wounds from cutting, huge bandages on one arm, and new cuts on his chest, begging for help. He has a psych appointment for three days later but is clearly in distress NOW. He laid his head [...]
November 30: Great fun to just be having fun.
Sunday - not a day off, but a beautiful day. We finished up with the pharmacy storage at One Happy Family. Then went over to the Refugee4Refugees warehouse which has to be moved tomorrow to a new warehouse. Cathy, Sid, Lily, hard at work with the R4R team sorting through literally tons of donations put them on pallets to be [...]
November 30: Giving Tuesday – December 1
The Hands On Global team is still on the ground in Greece working at the new Kera Tempe Camp which houses close to 8,000 refugees. The conditions here are bleak: limited toilets, summer tents, cold water showers from a water bladder, no electricity.The worst is for those isolated by COVID. The isolation area is deplorable and inhumane. These patients are [...]
November 28: The importance of NORMALCY
Saturday, a day off from the clinic. But still work to be done so the team split up. Cathy and Lily went to the Home For All warehouse and sorted and bagged clothes for distribution. There is an urgent need for warm clothes and coats as winter weather approaches . . , predicted for Monday. Tama, Sid and I went [...]
November 27: The really bright side are the refugee translators.
Grateful Thanksgiving week. It was wonderful to see all the posts of gratitude. It is early Saturday morning. I was planning to sleep in, but the external clock and the slightest hint of morning light have my eyes open, jumping out of bed for that first cup of coffee.The last 2 days of clinic flowed at a steady pace. No [...]