Let’s figure out together how to run relief services and improve coordination at donors-grassroots-policy levels.
“What if a sudden disaster left millions of Greeks or other Europeans homeless and helpless?” Is what Aravella was thinking as she started to assemble Backpacks for refugees . All the way from the Kos Island to Thessaloniki and to the Idomeni border, Hundreds of enterprising Greeks spawn a whole network of “shadow” clinics .
YBE, another community member and psychoterapist, went on to Trauma Tour from Belgium To provide mental health assistance to anyone in need.
Meanwhile, young programmers or design students in Berlin are offering free programming courses at RefugeesWork , or developing a Newcomer app, or build furniture to foster new skills and creativity.
In our conversations over the past year, several inconsistencies and roadblocks came up Which make it more difficult to continue the work:
- how public authorities has or well meaning donors can add to the difficulty of coordinated grassroots relief efforts (Aravella's example of More than 1/5 of all donations being unsuitable!)
- who cares for the carers? how volunteers Preventing burnout needs to be on top of the list (Alex wrote a great post )
- different projects seldom build on each other to meet different needs of Those on the move , from access to basic security, to nurturing social life, to empowering technology? (Luisa makes a case for public spaces as substitutes for home )
- few to none solutions are there to deal with the "chaos in the system" brought` about a politicized, stigmatizing debate on one side, and unfit welfare infrastructures on the other: "How does a clinic in Brixton cope with a situation in cui you have five hundred people who have just walked to Calais and have broken feet ... In addition to the epidemiological situation? "(also see Woodbine's view on health autonomy alternatives as)
As part of our preparations for the Openvillage Festival we are discovering how under-the-radar projects could be better supported in an ecosystem. By October 19-21 we aim to:
- Engage existing Initiatives in telling about the practical challenges they are facing
- Validate them through open discussion, both online and offline, to understand the full scope of how alternative care systems are coping with the needs of people on the move
- Demonstrate / Exhibit projects and concepts in a format immediately useful to practitioners, economists, policymakers and any interested parties working on similar grounds.
How you can contribute:
- Explore the stories others have shared and leave thoughtful comments.
- Tell us about your own care-related experiences and projects. Where are some things you have tried to do in the past, what are you doing now.
- Build a proposal for a demo session / exhibition at Openvillage. You will deliver a practical, hands-on showcase of a project connected to migrant care. Tell us what support do you need to make it happen?
Open a new document and write down what you are doing or have learned. Do not worry about getting it “right” in any way - this is a no judgment space. When ready, upload your contribution through the “add new topic”.
Good for you: When you post you will get a ticket to Openvillage: Meet the OpenCarers .
Good for everyone: Your input goes into the OpenCare research project - the findings are shared in the form of a report Which we hope will be useful for everyone interested in care for the 21st century.