We would like to say a big thank you to all of you for supporting our project, Three Peas in a Pot can make a difference. Without you it wouldn’t have been possible to achieve such a great result.
With an incredible €12,000 Euro, we were able to support Hot food Idomeni as well as other organisations like Solidaritea. Thanks to you, we had 10 days of food and drink to feed between 5 to 6000 people. That is truly amazing!
Idomeni 19th to 22nd of May:
It seems like only been yesterday that we had to say goodbye to this place of forgotten people. When we arrived, there was so much to do in so little time – where to turn your attention first…
We started by chopping veggies for Hot food Idomeni. Hidden away in the backyard of a highway Hotel close to Polykastro, they set up an outdoor kitchen with four gas cookers and the biggest pans we have ever seen! A few tables with a mountain of vegetables that needed to be peeled, chopped and cooked.
Once the food was prepared we headed towards Idomeni camp in a convoy, passing the police control, where everyone going in and out is registered and checked. At the time we were there the big NGO’s were no longer allowed in. The supplies for the people living in the camp were restricted to the minimum, there was hardly any medical assistance and no schooling for the children.
We are sure by now everyone has seen pictures of the camp in the media showing hundreds of tents of all shapes, some campfires, kids playing with broken pushchairs, people sitting in their tents waving at you. There are small stands where refugees try to sell or trade goods, like soap, teabags, flatbread, and cigarettes. All around you see small children trying to get your attention, a smile or a hug…
As soon as the food truck stopped at the distribution point, two long queues formed in seconds, one for men, one for women and children. Over the next few hours we gave out bowls with shorba (a delicious lentil curry), cooked eggs and tomato cucumber salad with tons of onions, as well as highly desired lemons which would provide necessary vitamins.
When you are busy giving out thousands of meals in a short space of time you don’t get a chance to think, you just work as quick as you can so everyone has the opportunity of a hot meal.
During the moments when you can process what you are doing and the vast number of people being fed, you realise the enormity of the crisis and it leaves you feeling very overwhelmed. And yet, there is a feeling of a solidarity between all these people fleeing from war and the passionate volunteers who were nothing but friendly and calm. We didn’t feel for a moment that we were in a dangerous place. The adults and children were welcoming and generous with a smile a hug, sharing what little they had.
We all know that England is best known for their queuing skills – but there we witnessed what it means to be patient. People were standing all day, queuing for nappies, a bottle of baby milk, a hot cup of tea, a meal – with a dignity we have never seen before.
Idomeni is now in the past as people have been taken to military camps, and slowly things begin to settle, although many places are in a terrible state with little more than running water. There is still a lot to do for all of us.
Please let’s not forget these people, get to know them, talk to them, hug them, look into their eyes and connect. This is what every human being needs.
We are already planning some events in London to fundraise money as well as our next trip to Greece this autumn.
With your continued support we will be able to provide money and help to support all these great small grassroot organisations, like Hot food Idomeni, Solidaritea and many more that are doing their wonderful work for humanity.
If you want to read of our past fundraising and visit to Idomeni click on this link: https://www.youcaring.com/forhumansfleeingwarorpersecution