Supporter on Site: Lennard on Lesvos

We are currently active on four continents and in 14 countries. Our goal: to help as quickly and efficiently as possible. How does this work? Thanks to our partners in the countries where we are active! They speak the local languages, are well connected, have important contacts and, above all, are always on site. To get to know our so-called “Supporters on Site” better, we will introduce them to you in our new interview series.

One of them is Lennard with his humanitarian organisation Europe Cares. Together we have been working together on Lesvos for two years.

STELP: Please introduce yourself.

Lennard:My name is Lennard Everwien, I am co-chair and co-founder of Europe Cares. Especially on Lesvos in Greece, we work together closely with STELP.

STELP: What do you and Europe Cares do locally?

Lennard:As co-chairman, together with Tiara Mengel, I am responsible for the management and long-term development of Europe Cares. As an organization, we support refugees and stand up for human rights at the European external borders. Our Community Center Paréa Lesvos in Greece is an important safe space in the immediate vicinity of the camp and a base for 10 other aid organizations. From our Volunteer Hub in Frankfurt, we send humanitarian emergency aid and mobilize people for a civil society based on solidarity.

STELP: How did Europe Cares come to work with STELP.

Lennard:The first contact we had was on Lesvos in 2021, when STELP had made our joint project possible. After the opening of Paréa Lesvos, we further deepened our partnership: In critical moments, STELP stood by us and ensured the center’s continued existence; at the same time, we are regularly supported on site by STELP volunteers.

STELP: Which project is most important to you personally and why?

Lennard: Pushbacks, kidnappings, violation of basic human rights and the criminalization of humanitarian aid: there is hardly any other place where the cruelty of the European border regime is more visible than on Lesvos. Personally, I have been on the island on and off for three years and our Paréa project is close to my heart because it creates a a space in which all people are seen as people and is a reflection of the society of solidarity that we are committed to.

STELP: Do you have a life motto?

Lennard:Per Audacia Ad Astra –“With courage to the stars”