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Project details

Start date: February 2019
Status: Finished
Duration: 3,5 months
Country: Greece

Sustainable Development Goals

PAR Report

The Socially Inclusive Community Center

A PAR on ways in which refugees visiting and working in the community center in a refugee camp in Lesvos, Greece feel more included and comfortable.

 

Julia was Participatory Action Researcher in this project and Ivan was co-facilitator at location.

Situation

Some 6,900 human beings are stuck on the Greek island of Lesvos, due to the EU-Turkey deal, made in March 2016. This deal sealed the borders across the Balkan route to stop migrants coming to Europe (Strickland, 2018). Around 4,700 of these people reside in the camp of Moria and 1,250 in Kara Tepe. Depending on the different statistics around 70% to 90% are people from Afghanistan. Women account for 22% of the population and children for 42%, of whom more than 7 out of 10 are younger than 12 years old (UNHCR stats published on the 15th of April 2019).   The community center ‘One Happy Family’ is visited by 700-1000 people per day on average and gives visitors and helpers (refugees volunteering in the center) the possibility to learn, laugh, forget their worries for a couple of hours and be part of a community. It is a place which is built and run together with people from refugee camps in Lesvos – therefore, also their slogan: ‘Work WITH the people, not FOR them’. At ‘One Happy Family’ (OHF), you can drink tea, eat lunch, use the Wi-fi, get a haircut, repair your clothes, draw, dance, rest, see the doctor, get legal advice, take language, geography and photography classes,  play chess, learn about theater, permaculture, how to repair a bike, get soap, diapers and a toothbrush, do yoga, Muay Thai, play volleyball.   People at the ‘One Happy Family’ love the strong feeling of community: making friends and connecting, meeting people from different nationalities, giving and receiving respect, as well as actively participating in the community. However, not everyone in the center feels equally part of the community. Some feel uncomfortable and excluded or are concerned that others feel uncomfortable in certain dynamics or situations due to the different backgrounds. It is important for them that everyone feels comfortable and welcome at the community center.   Due to this diverse mix of stories, backgrounds, dynamics as well as the given space of the community center, the question arises: How can refugees visiting and working in the community center ‘One Happy Family’ feel more included and comfortable at the center?

PAR Design

PAR-goal

To facilitate the co-creation of an action plan among visitors and workers of the community center, that improves the sense of social inclusion among refugees.

Outcome

The following outcomes were co-created by the OHF community and are in different stages ranging from ‘in development’ to ‘implemented’:

    • Regarding cultural understanding, an African culture sharing day was organized and a food recommendation box was created.
    • Regarding physical contact, the coordination team updated the code of conduct with the information taken from the workshops.
    • Regarding physical space, a group of women redesigned and rearranged the outside area of the women’s house.
    • Additionally, together with the coordination team, focus topics were defined and concrete solutions to tackle these were found which include (see report for more details about the outcomes):
      • Using a new setup and format for the helpers’ meeting
      • Creating an overview of the improvements ideas and topics list in front of the coordination office accessible for everyone
      • Employing an extra innovation/improvement person on the ground
      • Establishing coordination office hours
    • This novel participatory approach used during the Participatory Action Research planted some seeds and is expected to lead to even more involvement of the helpers in shaping the organization of OHF.

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