The end of our first week and we are making sense of the chaos. Working well in our positions and as a team. All the medical NGOs are working together and it is inspiring. Still, the set-up is evolving. Awaiting construction of spaces and shelters for many of the medical services. Triage both chronic and primary [...]
Working triage. Love it because I get to meet all the patients. We made a few improvements working well, still need shelter. It gets cold as we are by the sea and the wind picks up every afternoon. Medications are a big issue. I just spent over $800 on replacing meds and we have only [...]
Worked evening triage with Lily last evening. Triage is not working so well . . . it was lined with orange construction fencing that was blowing in the wind. Triage was outside with the wind blowing and no shelter for the patients or us. We were right next to the sea and it was cold. [...]
We are working split shifts, the teams working 8 am – 2 pm and 2 pm – 8 am. Today is my evening shift. The medical NGOs are all working together in the same “tent”. It is very busy, yet organized. I think this is working well. It is amazing - the medical folks from around [...]
Hands On Global team is heading to the refugee camps in Greece again. We are leaving the day after the election as many of us are working to get out the vote! This will be a difficult trip. The temporary camp after the Moria fire has already flooded twice. People are living in crowded summer tents [...]
I am heartbroken and in shock! Moria Camp on Lesvos, Greece has been devastated by a catastrophic fire. It housed 15,000 refugees. It is now uninhabitable. All the medical clinics are destroyed (*except for MSF located outside the camp). The isolation unit for Covid patients - GONE, Primary Care Clinics - GONE, Central Triage - GONE, [...]
The Hands On Global team are all safely home from the Moria Refugee Camp in Lesbos, Greece. We were reluctant to leave but felt we had no choice with the EU borders closing due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We left behind 22,000 refugees who do not have the privilege to leave. There are currently only 6 [...]
Today the medical clinic was closed. Everyone was working to get bedding and clothing in place for the 200 plus people needing shelter due to yesterday’s fire. The UNHCR worked to reissue paperwork as people have lost their papers. This is scary. Parents mourning the loss of their child, people were injured. One of our lovely [...]
We are in the midst of a hell realm - a huge fire today inside the camp, one child died, several hundred now without shelter. What else can go wrong ? Well Covid 19, the medical NGOs talking but still no direct actions to deal with this, the Greek hospital unwilling to address the potential of [...]
Tonight the NGOs are all meeting with the Greek Ministry of Health to come up with a plan for the camp if Covid-19 hits. So far only two cases on Lesvos and both are in the north, not near us. We have been taking precautions with masks and hand washing and gloves. The complication is [...]
