Although it was only 1 p.m. at Vedrana Greatorex's house, the sun seemed to be already going down.
It's a hard time of year, dark and cold - and, as Greatorex pointed out, even more so for refugees.
Greatorex is the creator and organizer of the Carry Me Home Project, a local effort that ships donated supplies to refugee mothers and children making their way across Europe, many without food, winter jackets, or shoes.
The project began unassumingly, when Greatorex wired money to a friend from her hometown of Zagreb, Croatia who was regularly driving to a nearby border crossing to distribute supplies to the refugees waiting to cross.
In part, it was Greatorex's 14-month-old son who inspired her to action. In September, Greatorex began having nightmares after seeing the now-famous photo of the body of a 3-year-old Syrian refugee who drowned during an attempted crossing, washed ashore on a Turkish beach.
“My son sleeps just like that,” she said, of the position the tiny refugee was found in: head to one side, arms at his sides.
Greatorex's initial donation soon led to a larger community effort as friends began donating items to be shipped: baby slings and carriers, children's winter boots, coats, and hats.
By late September, the bulk of what Greatorex was collecting had outmatched what her friend could process individually. Her friend referred her to the grassroots organization and newly declared non-government organization Are you Syrious?, run by the Croatian couple Lejla and Luka Juranic.
Greatorex had reservations at first about partnering with an unknown overseas organization, but after watching the progress online and establishing a relationship with the organizers and volunteers, she saw the difference the organization was making at refugee camps and border crossings.
“One of my goals with this is 100-percent transparency,” said Greatorex, whose project Facebook page (facebook.com/CarryMeHomeWithLove/) outlines exactly where the money is going and how it is being used.
Smaller organizations adapt to fast-changing crises
Speaking by telephone, Are You Syrious? founder Lejla Juranic laid out the difficulties for refugee families making their way across Europe. Partly due to corrupt smugglers exploiting their desperation, it costs over 550 euros for one family to travel from Greece to Croatia.
Many have walked through three or four countries without jackets or winter boots before they receive aid. She said that while organizations like the Red Cross have advocacy power and name recognition, they can be slow to act.
On the phone, one of the first things Lejla Juranic asked us was, “How cold is it there?”
Midday on a Monday in Spofford, much of the frost hadn't melted yet.
“Right,” said Juranic. “It is here, too. These families sometimes are wearing flip-flops, T-shirts. They're sleeping outside at night.” Some families walk as many as 30 or 40 miles in a day.
For this reason, Greatorex stresses, the most valuable aid that those interested in helping can send are jackets, shoes, and money to help defray the costs of transportation.
Because borders open and close quickly, bottlenecks of refugees amass in certain areas and then quickly clear up. Smaller organizations like Are You Syrious? can sometimes adapt more quickly to these changes, Juranic said.
“Sometimes I ask myself, 'Why this?'” Greatorex said of her partnership with Are You Syrious?. “There have been plenty of causes, plenty of needy children. Donating $100 to the Red Cross, while I never want to discourage anyone from doing that, for me didn't alleviate that sense of helplessness. I wanted something more direct.”
In Brattleboro and its surrounding communities, parents are used to passing along their children's outgrown clothing, strollers, and baby carriers to other families, and Greatorex saw this practice as a way to get supplies to those in need.
“Compared to this area, Croatia is not a huge baby sling area - people mostly use strollers, so it's very expensive and very difficult to get them. [I thought,] wouldn't it be easier if these mothers didn't have to carry their wriggling babies in their arms?” Greatorex said.
“Making things easier” is at the heart of the Carry Me Home Project, which Greatorex is the first to admit is just “putting a Band-Aid on a bleeding artery.”
Both Juranic and Greatorex emphasized that this kind of aid work is not a solution - that is up to political leaders -but it is meant to alleviate the suffering of mothers and young children.
“I do not feel that these [refugees] are dangerous; however, even if you do, don't let that stop you from helping,” Greatorex said.
“The stuff we're providing is not going to get [the refugees] here - it's going to help these kids be a little less traumatized, maybe healthy.”