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THESSALONIKI, Greece — A rare snow storm and freezing temperatures forced the cancellations of flights and shut down roads, but it didn't stop Hayley Smith and her team of volunteers from racing to gather aid for refugees stuck on Greek islands.
Thanks to generous donations — many of which came from Utah — Smith's non-profit Lifting Hands International (LHI) was able to buy desperately needed items like sleeping bags and tents.
This is just one of countless missions LHI has carried out over the past year.
"It's been really hard to see all the suffering that I've seen," Smith said, walking along the snow-covered sea shore in Thessaloniki where her Greek team of volunteers is based.
She has seen and heard a lot.
Fluent in Arabic, Smith volunteered as a translator during the early months of the Greece refugee crisis. When she returned to Arizona she created LHI. The non-profit provides clear and meaningful ways to help refugees, both in the U.S. and abroad.
"The hardest thing for me is that the crisis is actually getting worse, but we are not hearing as much about it anymore," Smith said. "So there aren't as many volunteers. There isn't enough aid."
Smith's main focus in Greece is providing vital services for a camp of about 500 Yazidis. In August 2014, ISIS launched a major attack on the ethnic minority group living in northern Iraq.
"It is one of the only official genocides of this whole conflict," Smith explained. "ISIS killed thousands of people.
Those who survived then faced a harrowing journey through an unforgiving landscape.
"They've seen dead children and dead women along the roads because they've starved or they've been dehydrated," Smith said.
For months, tents in northern Greece have been the refugees' homes. As winter set in they were temporarily relocated to apartments. The horrors of war are still felt every day.
Our KSL news team watched as Smith consoled a young woman who received devastating news from Iraq via text message.
"Her friend in Sinjar was killed yesterday, probably by ISIS — decapitated. You hear these stories every day," Smith said.
To help the refugees cope with trauma and all the stress that comes from transitioning to life in a new country, a volunteer from Ireland offered massage therapy.
"Holding the neck of somebody who has come from a traumatized background compared to somebody who knows they are safe but just feels exhausted is a completely different experience," explained Melanie Furniss.
Smith's small team also delivers fresh food to supplement army rations. They teach language classes, make hygiene kits and offer another key need: friendship.
"I wasn't expecting so much happiness that I'd have with the residents, of just laughter, play," said volunteer Tawna Fowler, while taking a break from a snowball fight.
Fowler traveled to Greece from Lehi, Utah.
"It amazes me when I think about what they've been through, and they are still able to have so much of that positivity," she said.
Soon the refugee families will return to the tents and an uncertain future out of their control.
"The lack of choice and lack of control is one of the biggest problems," Smith said.
All over Greece thousands of refugee families face an indefinite wait for a permanent home.
Smith said she greatly admires their strength and determination. "They hold on to hope so much for their new country," she said.
Back in the U.S., LHI is helping refugees in the Phoenix area transition and setup their apartments. Smith also speaks to groups around the country about the value of welcoming refugees into their communities.
For more information on the organization, visit www.liftinghandsinternational.org.
