Working hard in the garden!

Author: Avery Van Scoy | Major: Global Studies | Semester:  Summer 2024

Over summer break I had the privilege of working with Lifting Hands International (LHI), a Utah based international non-governmental organization that accompanies vulnerable communities around the world. I worked directly with forcibly displaced peoples in Serres, Greece at a community center dedicated to supporting refugees. LHI, and community centers like it, operate inside and outside of refugee camps across the globe to provide safe spaces for people who have been displaced. Typically, in Greece, people living in camps are asylum seekers that are applying for their refugee status. This means they have a long journey behind them, and ahead of them, as they try to find permanent placement.

While on their journey, these centers help support refugees – called guests and community members – with safe spaces designed to provide psycho-social support. Community centers implement many different practices to meet these goals from cultivating an environment where people can relax and interact, to having more specific goals, like raising literacy levels. As an honors International and Global Studies major, I felt that my classes prepared me, but that I still had a lot to learn from my summer abroad.

The LHI community center is open five days a week, four hours a day and is situated in a field nearby a refugee camp operated by the International Organization for Migration. There are many different spaces in the field that create a welcoming atmosphere where guests can relax, interact with others, learn new languages, connect with other aid organizations, and more. In addition to gardens and sporting fields, five semi-permanent tents address common community needs:

1. The education tent has a classroom with desks, a white board, and a library for language classes.
2. The “Female Friendly Space” (FFS) tent is designated as a safe space for women and children under two. It offers sewing tables and craft projects, along with furniture to create a relaxing environment for the women using the space.
3. The Arts and Recreation tent is used for fitness and music classes and houses gym equipment. There is also lots of outdoor seating and shade for any adult to enjoy while playing games, doing an art activity, or just talking with friends.
4. The “Child Friendly Space” (CFS) has child-sized furniture, a tiny kitchen, and a cozy corner with stuffed animals and pillows for circle time.
5. The final tent is for professional development, and every day of the week it hosts different activities. These include bike repair, a salon, a barbershop, and more.

Each tent and its activities in the center are carefully thought out from a community-led approach. Which is defined by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees as, “the right to participate in making decisions that affect their [refugees] lives” as well as, “a right to information and transparency” from those responsible for providing assistance. These characteristics are vital when operating in the humanitarian sphere.

A community led approach can look different depending on the context in which an organization is operating. For LHI, it means collaborating with our guests in the programs offered, and in the physical qualities of the center. For example, there is a small garden outside the FFS tent, that has picnic tables, and is outlined by planters. Although, the women were rarely sitting at the tables and enjoying the space. Through conversation with the visiting team, the women revealed that they did not use the garden because it did not offer privacy. In order to solve this problem, logistics managers partnered with skilled community members to design and build a pergola that was outfitted with a fabric covering that would allow for a breeze, and for the desired privacy. This shows that it is essential to engage with the community using the space, on how they want it to run. If it doesn’t meet their needs, then the space will go unused.

These types of projects on the field offer a means for people to utilize the skills that they once employed to support themselves, and in some cases their families. This provides a sense of pride in themselves, and their work, while also fostering a sense of ownership of the space. These combine to create a feeling of belonging.  This feeling is essential to the primary goal of wellbeing that the community center is there to support. Having the power to voice your opinion, and see your ideas change your surroundings gives people a sense of agency that has likely been denied to them on their journey to Greece. And in turn, the projects help make the center better for everyone.

Another example of a community led project is the larger garden. This garden provides an additional area for people to enjoy, and for activities. Chess club is run once a week on tables in the garden, under the shade of an umbrella. Community members with expertise helped to plan the garden with flowers, vegetables, and the proper drainage and soil for the plants to thrive. Volunteers help to weed and otherwise maintain the garden. Empowering people to use their skills and leave a tangible impact on the center increases community engagement.

Without the aspect of being a community-led project, the LHI center could not be the thriving space that it is. With the changing demographics of the people in the refugee camp, it is also necessary to keep the project fluid, and ready to meet the desires of the people currently using the space. Through recognizing the community’s resilience and capabilities it is possible to build a strong partnership that benefits both parties. My time spent with LHI taught me what it really means to apply my degree to the field of humanitarian aid and has equipped me with the skills necessary to facilitate aid projects while respecting the local community.