“Delicate Elegance is all about love, childhood, innocence and family. Thanks to Delicate Elegance’s generosity and that of my wonderful friends and family, I was able to take 120 pairs of warm, comfortable unisex sweatpants to Lesbos to hand out to 120 cold, wet, scared children who had just landed on the beach.”
Two big suitcases full of children’s trousers. It’s not exactly what Katie, our Head of Marketing, usually packs to take on holiday. But this wasn’t a holiday. She was off to Lesbos, the Greek island where thousands of refugees arrive from Turkey every day.
Katie’s Story
“Every day, the news is full of stories of the refugee crisis in Europe. The Greek island of Lesbos is the first point of arrival into the EU for hundreds of thousands of refugees, desperately fleeing war and oppression in their homelands. For them, they have no choice but to take the dangerous ‘death boats’ from Turkey to Greece on their journey in search of safety and freedom for themselves and their families.
“I decided to go to Lesbos to help the groups of incredible volunteers doing an amazing job – despite limited facilities and resources – helping the refugees arriving on the island. I headed to the north of the island and spent a week in Eftalou and Molyvos helping to sort donations from across the world as well as distributing clothes, blankets, water and toys to refugees.
“On my last night in Lesbos, a boat broke down halfway between Turkey and Greece. It was night and the Syrian refugees on the boat were terrified. Despite having paid thousands of dollars for their place on the boat, the boat provided by the smugglers was old and dangerous. The smugglers didn’t even give the group enough fuel to reach Lesbos.
“They thought they were going to die. Luckily, they were found by the Greek coastguard and brought to safety. When we met them at Molyvos’ small port, they were ecstatic. They were so happy, so relieved to have survived the dangerous journey that had already claimed the lives of so many.
“When they arrived we gave them warm, dry clothes, blankets and food, and they settled down to spend the night on the street before continuing their journey to the island’s capital, Mytilene. I have never seen a group of people – from frail, elderly women to families with tiny babies and children – so happy to be sleeping out in the cold, dirty street, but they were all just so grateful to be alive.
“Thank you again to Delicate Elegance and all of the incredibly generous people all over the world who have donated supplies to help the refugees as they continue their journey in search of somewhere safe to live. Somewhere their children can go to school. Somewhere where they have access to good medical care for the pregnant women, the sick and the elderly. Somewhere they can live in freedom. Everyone in the world should have that right.”
