When We Band Together (WWBT)

My name is Stavros Mirogiannis. From 2015-2019 I helped establish, and then run, the Kara Tepe refugee camp on the Greek island of Lesvos, which was home to around 1,200 people at any given time.

Under my leadership, Kara Tepe was heralded for its emphasis on maintaining dignity for its residents and ensuring quality conditions. You can read about it here and watch a video I'm featured in here.

I've recently taken a leadership role at WWBT to help build out safe spaces and community centers near the Moria refugee camp on Lesvos, which is home to over 20,000 people.

I'm in a unique position to effectively lead a large initiative on the island. On top my experience running Kara Tepe, I am well-respected by the locals (I am a local), authorities (I served in Greek special forces), refugee community and other NGOs (both from my time leading Kara Tepe.

In short, we are building a wonderful village around a terrible camp.

The Moria refugee camp in Lesvos, Greece has been called the “worst refugee camp on earth” by the BBC. The camp is overcrowded, unsanitary, and dangerous. Worse, refugees can wait in Moria for 2-3 years. With few services and programs, Moria's residence face boredom, suffering, and despair.

We are renting the properties surrounding Moria, many of them warehouses, and transforming them into intentional spaces that provide dignity, purpose, and happiness. Our model is one of partnership, working with locals, NGOs and the refugee community. 

Currently we are working on setting up a Sports and Wellness Center and an Education Center.

By renting out local properties, and turning them into community resources, we hope to show the world a model where NGOs and private capital can both dramatically improve living conditions for displaced people at a high-impact-per-dollar and economically support host-communities.

The Moria refugee camp in Lesvos, Greece has been called the “worst refugee camp on earth” by the BBC. Constructed for 2,500 people, the camp currently houses 20,000. This has led to extreme overcrowding and unsanitary conditions. 

People at the camp are often left in purgatory, unable to leave the island until receiving official approval - a process that can be opaque and take years. 

There are very few programs and resources dedicated to the people of Moria, which creates an atmosphere of boredom, suffering, and despair. Suicide attempts, sexual violence, and physical violence have been the unfortunate and far too common result. 

Our work is simple, relatively cheap, and transformative.

1. We rent property within walking distance of the Moria refugee camp
2. We work with the refugee community and local NGOs to determine what programming, and which partners would be best for the property.
3. We receive all necessary permits and do light construction on the property.
4. We open a space where the residents of Moria can find dignity, safety, purpose, and happiness.

Currently we are working on setting up a Sports and Wellness Center with Yoga and Sport for Refugees and an Education Center with Action For Education.
It's incredible what a designated, intentionally designed space and some programming can do for people's spirit and wellbeing. 

Our project serves the residence of Moria refugee camp in Lesvos, Greece.

The camp has become infamous for its terrible conditions. You can call it overcrowded, (sometimes at 10x capacity) unsafe, and unsanitary, but those words do not do it justice. You can read about it here, here, and here.

The most damaging part about living in Moria is what happens to the mind. People wait for unknown amounts of time in the camp - sometimes 6 moths, sometimes several years.

There is little to nothing to do. Most children are not in school. Unaccompanied minors wonder aimlessly and get into trouble, sometimes killing each other. 

Depression is common amongst residents as there is nothing most are able to build towards or look forward to. Just another day in an endless blur of long food lines, and cold nights.

This is what we are setting out to change. We are creating spaces that provide structure, purpose, and something to look forward to.

The Elevate Prize seems to about scaleable solutions to large problems.

There are over 70 million displaced people in the world. To call the refugee crisis "large" would be an understatement.

Many government have elected nationalists, and created cruel immigration policies and terrible camp conditions. When NGOs come to help, they typically leave the host-community behind, shipping in their own equipment and products, which can cause resentment and lead to even more nationalists being elected.

We are scaling a way to eliminate much of the unnecessary suffering refugees endure in these camps that also builds goodwill with host-communities.

During my time running Kara Tepe, I worked hard to build a culture where the residents felt respected and find joy (you can read a little about it here).

I always worked in partnership with the refugee community, the locals and NGOs to provide services that could transform the day-to-day experience. I always focused on dignity. Decisions that seem small, like my decision to deliver food to residences instead of having people wait in food lines, made a huge difference.

During this time, I met WWBT founders Xander and Zoë. They also cared deeply about supporting projects that focused on dignity. I worked with them to build BBQ pits so families could cook their own meals, set up a garden program, and buy new mattresses for newly-arrived families.

WWBT had been supporting the Hope and Peace Center a project near Moria that transformed a warehouse into a safe space for women and children. 

Moria has over 20,000 people. I knew more projects like this must exist, so I joined WWBT to build out more safe spaces and community centers near Moria.

Helping displaced people on my island of Lesvos has become my life's mission. 

I have always led a life of service, whether it be now or my time in the military.

I love the people I supported at Kara Tepe in the same way I love my Greek neighbors I grew up with on Lesvos.

From 2015-2019 I helped establish, and then run, the Kara Tepe refugee camp on the Greek island of Lesvos, which was home to around 1,200 people at any given time.

Under my leadership, Kara Tepe was heralded for its emphasis on maintaining dignity for its residents and ensuring quality conditions. You can read about it here and watch a video I'm featured in here. I worked with ever major refugee aid organization, including the UNHCR, the IRC, the Red Cross and others. My reputation is strong with all of my past partners.

I'm in a unique position to effectively lead a large initiative on the island. On top my experience running Kara Tepe, I am well-respected by the locals (I am a local), authorities (I served in the Greek special forces), refugee community and other NGOs (both from my time leading Kara Tepe. These groups have had a lot of friction between them, and can be destructive to one another. My relationships with them, and my empathy for them, allow me to do work that is appreciated and supported by all of them.

Every day during this refugee crisis on Lesvos has presented adversity we have had to overcome.

One of the most difficult things to overcome was the challenge of working with dozens of different cultures. It was my responsibility to have these people, who were all suffering such hardship, understand they are all now a family that needs to treat each other with the respect they deserve. 

In order to to this I built a protocol of the camp with 6 pillars: 

1. freedom 
2. democracy 
3. human rights 
4. respect 
5. trust 
6. hospitality

In order to be a good leader you have to be strong and consistent. In the end they know my heart - I only want what is best for them. It wasn’t always easy, but because they knew my heart, I was able to build trust with them that translated to trust between each other.

When I left Kara Tepe amid a government change in 2019, the men and women of Kara Tepe staged a protest for me. 

They came into my office, one by one, and offered to pool their monthly stipends - only 90 euro per month - to pay my salary so I could stay in my role.

I think their actions say more than I can say about my leadership. I see all people, regardless of ethnicity - as human beings. I strive to protect them and their humanity and dignity. I trust them and they trust me. I love them, and they love me.