Syria might seem like it’s a world away from us here, but to one Greenwich woman, helping Syrian refugees is a cause close to her heart.
Monica Garrido, along with four other moms from all around the United States and London, help improve the lives of refugee children with their organization One Refugee Child.
“We are a humanitarian, grassroots organization that raises funds to better the lives of refugee children,” said Garrido.
Currently, One Refugee Child is concentrated on the children in Turkey and Greece.
“They’ve faced traumatic circumstances in their lives. Their country is at war, they can’t sleep at night because of bombings and shellings, and their neighbors are being killed. The parents choose to leave, they have no choice. To choose to put your kids in danger, to leave something even worse. They have no choice but to make this dangerous trip from where they are to potentially a better life,” said Garrido.
Garrido says refugees pay large amounts of money to take a raft out and away from danger. When they arrive in the new country, they live in tents in harsh conditions.
“There’s no heat, no electricity. there’s been a lot of deaths from hypothermia,” said Garrido.
One Refugee Child is currently working on a few different projects like collecting winter clothes, boots, blankets, and strollers for the refugees.
“We started off with the stroller project. The goal is to rise $10,000 and we’ve raised $3,000 so far. We’ve handed out about 200 strollers,” said Garrido.
One Refugee Child also is working with a psychologist at a camp named Pipka that focuses on recovery for families that have been broken apart and children who have lost their parents.
“He’s working with us to figure out what the children need to recover, to potentially move on. The goal for that camp is $10,000 as well,” said Garrido.
Garrido says they have contacts in Turkey and Greece who hand out all the items to the refugees. She believes the women involved in this organization are passionate about these children because they are all moms.
“What if it were me? What if it were my children? What if right now, there was a catastrophe outside and I had to just my kids up and walk out the door? We are all driven beyond something that can be put into words,” said Garrido.
You can help refugee children by going to www.OneRefugeeChild.org and donating to the project of your choice or starting a fundraising campaign. Garrido also says you can spread awareness by liking the organization on social media and sharing posts.
