City Hope in Greece to assist refugees

The organisation has sent a small team to the Greek port city of Thessaloniki, which is receiving hundreds of refugees daily as they arrive on boats.

City Hope will help distribute aid to the refugees waiting there, mostly in the form of blankets and rain coats with the cold winter months approaching. 

Thousands of refugees, mainly from Syria, have fled the conflict in their country and have been trying to make their way to different parts of Europe. 

City Hope's Ockie van Heerden arrived in Athens on Saturday. 

He says they're heading to the border with Macedonia today, and have partnered with a local organisation, Agape.

"The greater problem is the volume of people crossing the borders daily. It is very difficult to verify each of them properly and as such, many are entering Europe as refugees when they are in fact not. I'm just really encouraged that as South Africans, we are able to make a difference in helping the refugees find a better life," Van Heerden said.

Van Heerden managed to speak to some locals in Thessaloniki and found they had wide-ranging opinions on the refugees arriving on a daily basis.

"It's bad, it's very bad, but not all immigrants are refugees. Many come from countries like Afghanistan, Iraq and neighbouring countries," one lady in a coffee shop told him. 

Van Heerden also agrees that the refugee crisis is a global problem that requires a global response.

"And this is why we do what we do - because every life matters," he concluded.

City Hope has worked in disaster-hit areas locally, regionally and internationally. Recently, they provided aid to hundreds of foreign nationals who were displaced by the xenophobic attacks in Durban.

You can follow Ockie Van Heerden's work and journey with the refugees this week in the Newswatch bulletins and blog.

For more on City Hope's mission to Greece and how you can help, visit their website. 

(Photo: City Hope YouTube)