DARTFORD LIVING MEETS....... BY KELLY GOLDSWORTHY Laura Teisler-Goldsmith is a wife and busy mum of two and lives in Greenhithe. She qualified and worked as a lawyer but decided against practising after becoming a mother. Twelve years ago Laura volunteered in Brazil, working with the street children in Rio and she credits this experience with a gaining of a new perspective. She formed Help for Leros last October. She explained: “In October 2015 I have received an email from a friend volunteering on Leros about the conditions and suffering of many children and families.Her words and the pictures she has sent were so shocking, it reduced me to tears, and I knew then that I had to respond. I got a group together and thought that we would send off couple of boxes with the aid needed. Little did I know that this would escalate to pallets and containers. At the beginning we concentrated on winter clothes, shoes and hygiene packs, however at the end of November we were asked to provide little lights for zips on children’s coats, as they were unsafe in the darkness of the camps and some children had even fallen into the toilets. In February 2016, I flew to Chios where I volunteered on the shore rescue team as well as in the registration camps. This was one of the hardest but most rewarding moments of my life. Upon arrival back to the UK, things in Greece had changed as the borders were closed, leaving a bottle neck of people in Greece in even worse conditions than before. It became obvious that people were going to be staying in camps for the foreseeable future, so we started to look at the situation from holistic point of view, looking for opportunities to bring some normality to those camps. We are involved in a few long term projects at the moment, concentrating on the women and children as they need the most help and support. For ladies we have Be Their Future- The Craft Project, where we supply wool, knitting needles, crochet hooks, fabric, cotton and much more. This gives these ladies the chance to get together, forge friendships and support each other in dealing with the trauma they have experienced. It also gives the opportunity to bring awareness to the trafficking issues that are very real and common. I am also very proud of our Back To School project. We
have found teachers in the camps which led to creating classrooms for children who had had their education disrupted or had never been to school at all. These kids are so eager to learn and we hope to support them in every way we can and to bring some normality and fun into their very difficult lives. Through donations we have been supplying school rucksacks with school supplies to get them started but there is much more we need to send. What I am exceptionally proud of is that we are now sending aid not only to Greece but also Syria, Lebanon and soon to Jordan as well. But closest to my heart is our project in Turkey, supporting girls, some as young as four, kidnapped, genitally mutilated and raped by ISIS members, which has resulted in many very young girls becoming pregnant and having babies. As their bodies can’t cope with being a mum at such a young age, we are sending much needed cartons of ready-made milk as well as nappies, wet wipes and pouches of vegetarian baby food, clothes and other items every months to support them and show them love.” Asked about her motivation Laura said: “Upon arrival back to the UK I knew that I must spread awareness about the suffering experienced by many. I have seen it. It’s real. I fully understand that there is poverty here too and we do what we can to help here too (donating to the food bank and refuge), but this poverty is like nothing you can imagine. Only last week two babies we know of died due to no milk being available. For me it starts with the word Compassion. Compassion is not a feeling, it is not a sympathy, empathy or just feeling sorry for someone for a few moments until our own self takes over again. It is also not something someone else should do either. Compassion is an action word, it is that moment when you see, are moved, understand, respond, ‘cross the road’ and get involved. It builds our character, rescues lives, gives permission to hope again, rebuilds and changes the world! To donate or volunteer to help with shipments or for collection points contact Laura via Help for Leros on Facebook.
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