by Ulla Steinhauer
Many of us have possibly heard of the Three Peas before. They are a group of friends from London, who initiated a charity called „Three Peas“, in order to assist refugees, who are stuck in Greece since the borders to Europe were closed in spring 2016.
All the money the Three Peas raise through fundraising events, contributes to the support of the most vulnerable people. So far the Three Peas have been able to house 100 people so far and even managed to organize and fund a Community Centre in Sindos, where people can meet and get basic schooling, for children as well as for adults.
I feel lucky, that I was able to attend a few fundraising events of the Three Peas. When the Three Peas organize something, one thing is for sure: not only are the events for a good cause, but their events are always so lovingly prepared and executed, that it is a pure joy to be part of this. The art auction organized by the Three Peas in May was an evening to remember. They raised a good sum of money, so desperately needed for the people they support in Greece, and they connected some very happy guests with beautiful art they were able to call their own at the end of the evening. Among the artists who donated their amazing work for the event were artists like Axel Scheffler, Chris Ridell, Moni Port, Satoshi Kitamura, Michael Minas, Neal Layton, Barroux, Barbara Nascimbeni, just to name a few.
The Three Peas continued their successful idea, with an online art auction, where people were able to bid online for work of their favorite artist. Let’s hope there are more events like this to come.
The most recent event was a Community event in Richmond. It was organized by the Three Peas and Refugees Welcome in Richmond. The guests were treated to scrumptious Mezze food, music performed by Syrian artists, a photo exhibition and some informative talks.
The talks were most moving to me as the speakers included one refugee, a Syrian young man from Aleppo called Ahmed, who told about his experience. He lost both his parents during the war, was captured and tortured and lost as a result half of his thumb. Ahmed came to the UK three years ago and works today as an interpreter for the BBC, Guardian and Aid organizations, as well as a language teacher. His goal is to tell the people about the beauty of Syria, so he sang Syrian songs to the audience in Richmond.
Other speakers included helpers, who had first hand experience in assisting refugees arriving by boat and organizing life for them in the camps. Impossible to leave this evening without being incredibly moved by what we have heard.
To me this is where the true strength of The Three Peas lies. They share the pain and the suffering of the Syrian refugees by listening to their stories and being there for them in this incredible tragedy. The Three Peas made the decision not to turn the page, not to switch the channel or to look away. They dare to imagine it could be them or their families, who could be stuck in the same way in this situation, dependent on help of others.
The Three Peas work incredibly hard for what they achieve. They can be very proud of all they have done. They are an inspiration to all of us and maybe more and more people will come together and help to make that difference.
For more information visit the website: https://threepeas.org.uk