dōTERRA Healing Hands™ Europe: What We Have Been Doing

When the founders of doTERRA first started the company, long before doTERRA launched operations in Europe, they decided to start doTERRA's mission of giving back. Right now, Europe is in the middle of one of its biggest humanitarian crisis ever, the refugee crisis.

This refugee crisis started in 2014 with the war in Syria, which resulted in more than 6 million people being displaced from their homes and fleeing their country in order to survive. To reach European soil, many embarked on unsafe, overcrowded, and illegal boats. Those who survived the journey then had to face living in refugee camps.

Now, five years later, the boats are still coming every day with asylum seekers from many Asian and African countries. From Turkey, Egypt, or Libya hundreds of people cross the Mediterranean with the hope for a better future. The Greek islands, being the closest point to the Asian continent, are their safest bet.

However, with European borders now closed, refugees who reach Europe must now wait for many months or even years before they are allowed to move on. This means overcrowded refugee camps, poor sanitary conditions, and almost no access to proper food, health, and education. These are exactly the kind of people that need our help.

Since 2016 doTERRA supported several partners on the ground as well as making other very necessary donations. We chose to act on the island of Lesvos, as this is the Greek island where most boats from Turkey arrive. In 2019 alone, 2,342 refugees arrived in Lesvos seeking asylum.

Here's what we have done to help improve the lives of the thousands of refugees who live in Lesvos.

Donations

Besides donating thousands of essential oils and skin care products as a small gift to women, doTERRA sent 2,000 sturdy sleeping bags and 1,000 blankets last year, and will soon be delivering another 2,000 sleeping bags to those in need.

2016 - 2019: Partnership with Home for All

Home for All is an organisation that has grown from a restaurant by the sea that would serve warm meals to refugees to a myriad of different projects making a big impact on the lives of many people in Lesvos.

More than a restaurant, which is known as "Home 1" and the start of everything, there is also an internet café, a warehouse full of donated clothes, and a centre for women and children. Now, their mission is to go even further. Soon, a project to educate and healthily feed the 300 unaccompanied minors who live in Moria refugee camp will commence.

For the past year doTERRA has been financing several Home for All initiatives; including donating essential oils for their kitchen, recruiting volunteers, and our most recent contribution the purchase of a brand new van – to drive people safely to and from the refugee camp.

We will continue to support their efforts to improve the lives of as many people as possible.

How can you help?

If you would like to be part of this wonderful project, Home for All would love to have your support as a volunteer. If you like to help, just apply here: www.lesvosvolunteer.com/

Besides volunteering, you can contribute to doTERRA Healing Hands projects in Europe, by purchasing the Rose Hand Lotion or Hope Oil blend. When purchasing these products, 100% of its net value goes to doTERRA Healing Hands projects. This is how we finance most of the projects mentioned above and it’s what allows us to keep making a change in so many places.