Paréa Lesvos.
Paréa is a beacon of hope for people on the move on Lesvos and represents one community in solidarity with our visitors and partners.
Our Community Center
Paréa Lesvos is a safe space for hundreds of people on the move. It offers them a sense of normalcy, dignity & community. It is our way to put "solidarity in action" every day.
Thousands of people on the move are still trapped on Lesvos. Since the fires of Moria Camp, the Greek island has almost disappeared from public perception - but people continue to embark on the dangerous journeys to Europe in search of safety. In early 2022, we as Europe Cares stepped in to save a unique community center when other NGOs withdrew from the island. At the time, arrivals on Lesvos were dropping. Today, thousands of people are arriving again, making our community center Paréa Lesvos more crucial than ever.
In Greek the word παρέα (paréa) means 'company', 'circle of friends'.
We first opened our doors in the beginning of 2022 and decided to name the center 'Paréa Lesvos' from the Greek word 'paréa', i.e. 'company', 'circle of friends'. For us, this name represents a daily memorandum of the power of collective work. In fact, Europe Cares is not alone in the center which is also a home to another 11 civil society organizations: together, we are one community in solidarity. In the past two years, we supported over 130.000 visitors from the refugee community. Here, by walking around 10 minutes from the Mavrovouni refugee camp, the camp community can access a wide range of services in one place, including food and clothes distributions, legal and psychosocial support, education and social care activities, and much more. But first and foremost, at Paréa we offer a sense of normalcy and belonging to the displaced community in a very difficult phase of their life.
Old but gold: Check out our video with some expressions of Paréa!
As Europe Cares, we operate the center itself, run various programs and support our partner organizations who offer their own services. Our work includes:
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We carry the overall legal & financial responsibility for the center, its safety, development and maintenance
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In our Café, we offer daily meals, drinks & snacks for all our visitors
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In our Women Space, our female visitors can relax, take part in our activities and just enjoy a moment for themselves far from their daily chores
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Our Paréa Club offers daily games, sports tournaments, music classes & workshops for all our visitors
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Basic & advanced Computer Classes empower our visitors with the use of technology in their daily life & in their process of integration in Europe
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We organize regular community events to bring the community together through food, music & fun
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Our management of the partner community aligns our offerings towards the visitors and identifies any gaps
Our partners offer services for basic needs (clothes & hygiene distribution, laundry service), psychosocial support for children & adults, legal support, education (language & photography classes) and recreational activities (arts, sports, children's activities, gardening).
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The Paréa Community
One Community in Solidarity
Paréa Lesvos is an important element of civil society infrastructure. We provide a home to our partner organizations and allow them to fully focus on their work towards their service for people on the move.
It is an important part of our work to ensure coordination between organizations, share information & know-how, uphold standards of safeguarding. We regularly seek and onboard new partners to close any gaps that may emerge and ensure a holistic approach to humanitarian work.
Leave No One Behind
Laundry Station & Hygiene Free Shop
Boat Refugee Foundation
Psychosocial Support for adults
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Makerspace Lesvos
Repair of bikes & electronics, tayloring, woodwork
Sporos Regeneration
Institute
Gardening & permaculture workshops
Artists Giving Back
Art Therapy
Sessions
Refugee Relief Doro Blancke
Language Classes,
Food Package Distribution & (via Defense for Children International) Legal Support
Collective Aid
Clothes Distribution
Terra Psy
Psychosocial Support for children & families
Refocus Media Labs
Photography & videography workshops
Circus Lesvos
Acrobatics Classes & circus shows
Yoga and Sports with Refugees
Sports Classes & Tournaments
