We are a group of volunteers at Casa Base, a safe space for women and children run by NAOMI Ecumenical Workshop for Refugees, a Greek-registered NGO in Thessaloniki. Casa Base is located next to the registration camp for refugees in the suburb of Diavata. It serves as a transit camp for most people, with a smaller group of about 200 people staying throughout the asylum process because they have at-risk family members with medical or other special needs.

The Camp is located on an industrial road several kilometres outside of the city. People arrive without shoes, blankets, coats or hygiene items and the camp provides none of these resources to meet their essential needs. Women are particularly vulnerable, as many are pregnant or caring for small children and receive little more than a bed in one of the old, poorly equipped containers in the fully-fenced camp.

Casa Base is open four days per week and is the only place near the camp that provides women and families with:

Beyond meeting their basic material needs, we offer women a safe place to relax, socialize, bake and enjoy coffee, tea and snacks. We provide childcare and appointments with lawyers, social workers, midwives and doctors. The women enjoy sewing and crocheting lessons, language classes and workshops on subjects such as sexual health, soft skills, infant care and nutrition. We engage the children in physical exercise and creative arts and provide computer access and after-school homework help.

Because the camp is primarily a transit camp, the group of women and children who visit us is constantly changing. On any given day, up to 80 women and children come to Casa Base as it is the only nearby resource for community and support.

We operate with one employee and a group of dedicated volunteers from Greece and abroad. As we receive no funding from the state, our financial situation is very difficult. We rely on donations to keep the space open, and to meet the needs of extremely vulnerable women and children. Please support our efforts with a donation! 100 percent of the funds we raise go directly to the people we serve.

Thank you in advance from the Casa Base volunteer team! :) Ella, Sophie, Valeria, Allison.

For more information visit: https://naomi.gr