his summer, we visited the island of Samos to interview some of the volunteers who have completed our digital training. Their feedback was fantastic! The training programme was very positively received by the volunteers who now feel better equipped to deal with the tough situations they face in their work. Our aim was to streamline administrative procedures for A Drop in the Ocean as well as to increase skills levels. We also hope that in the long term the solution will be used as a reference work in the field.

The solution itself is based on WordPress with integration into A Drop in the Ocean’s membership system. The digital training programme comprises several modules and leads to the certification that is required for all volunteers wanting to work for A Drop in the Ocean in any of the charity’s locations.

On Samos, A Drop in the Ocean has launched the Stagona School which has been able to provide the children in the refugee camp with basic English and Maths lessons. The children at the school are aged between 7 and 12. After only five weeks of operation, the school already has a long waiting list. This is the only opportunity that refugee children on Samos currently have to receive any type of education. We have also entered into a partnership with Forskerfabrikken to test their education programmes at the school. These include Science, Mathematics and Physics programmes.

“We are incredibly impressed with all the amazing people who work as volunteers for A Drop in the Ocean and other organisations and who contribute to improving a terrible situation for so many people. Being here and seeing that this is happening in Europe in 2019 has been very emotional,” says CEO Linn-Cecilie Linnemann.