Volunteering

What you need to know:

The work we do is tough, yet incredibly rewarding.

We are a team of volunteers and employees from all over. We focus on practical solutions to respond to people’s WASH and shelter needs. We are always looking for helping hands with experience in plumbing, festival-builds, electrical work and construction. However, we also welcome people to support all aspects of our operations. You don’t necessarily need to be a professional to help. Our experienced onsite technicians can provide you with training.

Volunteering with Watershed can be an intense experience. Refugee camps are quite often overpopulated and bleak places, making them a difficult environment to work in. Due to the focus of our work, we spend a lot of time working near or in toilets. It’s not a very glamorous job, but somebody’s got to do it and we love it!

Our work principles

What guides our project objectives and our working ethos.

Our work is based on internationally recognised standards drawn up by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Sphere Handbook. As an organisation, our work is centered around the humanitarian principles of humanity, impartiality, independence and neutrality – and are guided by the ‘do no harm’ principle. This includes respecting the equal worth and dignity of every individual without distinction, and promoting fundamental human rights irrespective of race, ethnicity, religion, age, sexual orientation or gender.

As an organisation we focus on action, not advocacy, in order to prioritise our practical goals and to avoid situations where our access to certain areas or camps may be restricted.

Join our team

Three facts to have in mind before you apply:

You are at least 21 years old.

You have at least 6 weeks free to volunteer with us, preferably longer.

You are able to sustain yourself financially.

Send us an application consisting of your CV as well as a letter of motivation (in English) explaining to us briefly why, when and for how long you would like to get involved:

[email protected]

Please include both a personal as well as a professional reference we can potentially get in touch with.

You are at least 21 years old.

You have at least 6 weeks free to volunteer with us, preferably longer.

You are able to sustain yourself financially.

Voices from our volunteers

“It is rare to find a group that is able to be specialised, close-knit and professional, yet warm, welcoming, and always ready for a laugh.”

– George, Volunteer from the U.K.

August 2021

“Working on Lesvos in 2021 is very different to what it has been in previous years. Whereas descriptions of the awful conditions in Moria were almost mainstream news, there is much less information out there about Mavrovouni RIC. This makes it hard for new volunteers -me this year- to know what to expect.

Where Moria was predominantly ‘jungle’ style, Mavrovouni is increasingly taking on a more permanent demeanour. Where work used to be largely responsive, flexible and autonomous, it is increasingly constrained by longer-term visions of a pre-planned permanent reception centre. Work now is more structured and requires navigation of a complex web of contractors, institutional actors, NGOs, and the Greek government.

For my two months with Watershed, alongside a number of smaller independent side projects, that meant shifting shower zones and WASH pads away from where new permanent WASH facilities housed in containers are being installed. It also meant modifying those same containers to adapt them to the requirements of a displaced persons camp.

It was an honour to have the opportunity to contribute in some small way to the incredible work Watershed does on Lesvos, adapting to whatever conditions throw at it. It is rare to find a group that is able to be specialised, close-knit and professional, yet warm, welcoming, and always ready for a laugh.”

“It was a good time for me to work with and learn from the open-minded colleagues.”

– Christian, Volunteer from Germany

February 2021

“I volunteered with Watershed at the beginning of the year to build some new toilet areas with washing stations. During rain events we also operated some pumps in the camp. It was a good time for me to work with and learn from the open-minded colleagues. During work, often some residents came, looked and sometimes helped a little. They were grateful for what we did. It was good to talk to them, hear their story and their plans for the future. I could see them doing their best to live in the camp despite the difficult conditions. It was good for me to be there and use my practical skills to improve the camp.”

“Fluctuation is low, work moral high and I appreciated the long term experience from different fields and backgrounds of my colleagues.”

– Laura, Volunteer from Germany

April 2021

“I joined Watershed in early 2021 as I was lucky enough to have received a recommendation to research the NGO. I applied as a volunteer after the fires happened in Moria in late September.

Watershed is based on warm, hard woking and hands-on team members. Fluctuation is low, work moral high and I appreciated the long term experience from different fields and backgrounds of my colleagues. After spending some weeks in camp, I joined the office team and developed a good understanding of the organizational structure and the work in and around the official camp structure.

I appreciate and was touched by the opportunity that was given to me during my stay on Lesbos – and I will, for sure, not stop working on the Watershed vision anytime soon.”

“Watershed has an easy-going culture, where people work hard, are very committed to their cause, and care for each other’s well-being.”

– Donald, Volunteer from the Netherlands

February 2020

“Volunteering at Moria Camp has shown me the human face of the European migration problem. Refugees’ resilience and disappointment, their flexibility and strength. Watershed has shown me how their efforts do not just ensure basic human needs, safety and hygiene, but also provide humane conditions to those who are sometimes forgotten.

As a Watershed volunteer, I feel I have been able to make a contribution to the general WASH infrastructure at the camp every day. At the same time it has been a unique, but also intense way to be immersed in the camp environment and daily lives of its residents. I have enjoyed working with my fellow volunteers, teaming up as buddies- with never a dull moment! Watershed has an easy-going culture, where people work hard, are very committed to their cause, and care for each other’s well-being.

It is with tremendous dedication, apparent skills and a bright smile that the people at Watershed make a longstanding difference for those living at Moria camp. They deserve a big thank you.”

Load more testimonials

“With incoming migrants and rising refugee numbers there is an incredible need for suitable sanitation systems; water and sanitation are vital not only for survival but also for dignity and social justice.”

– Fania, Volunteer from Cyprus

July 2019

“Hi, I’m Fania, and I volunteered with Watershed this past June!

Originally a Chemical Engineer, I’m now working on my Master’s thesis relating to Engineering for International Development. I am researching portable sanitation solutions for refugee camps which is how I found Watershed. With incoming migrants and rising refugee numbers there is an incredible need for suitable sanitation systems; water and sanitation are vital not only for survival but also for dignity and social justice.

Watershed directly improves the lives of refugees by working on water and sanitation in the Moria Camp every single day. It was an honor working with them, they gave me invaluable insightful information for research, and I learned so much. I particularly enjoyed green pipe welding! The entire team was supportive, lovely to work with and extremely dedicated – I hope to be able to come back soon!”

“I am proud that I could contribute with my own hands.”

– Matthi, Volunteer from Germany

April 2019

“I’m Matthi and I volunteered with Watershed this spring for 7 weeks.

It has been an exhausting and intense, but strengthening time in every way. I not only reached, but expanded my limits – physically as well as mentally. Apart from gaining all the technical knowledge about plumbing, electricity and construction, I received an invaluably real picture of the situation at Europe’s borders and I experienced the refugees‘ everyday struggle here in Moria.

It was an honour for me to be part of this incredible and supportive Watershed team. I am proud that I could contribute with my own hands.”

“I found a small and solid team, with experienced members who are always happy to teach the newcomers the basics of the job, and started working in maintenance projects.”

– Santiago, Volunteer from Spain

February 2019

“After I finished my bachelor’s degree, I decided I wanted to take a gap year to get involved in a long-term volunteering project before enrolling in a master’s program. I was interested in acquiring some technical experience -as I had an engineering background- and I was available, at least, for half a year. I read about Watershed by chance when I was looking for organizations working with migrants in Greece and I was immediately attracted by the description of the job they do.

It was easy and fast to get in touch with them and set an interview with a member of the project, who explained to me deeply the situation in Lesvos, the way the organization works and answered all my inquiries.

I arrived by the end of summer 2018, when the camp was heavily overpopulated, with little practical experience but lots of energy and willingness to learn. I found a small and solid team, with experienced members who are always happy to teach the newcomers the basics of the job, and started working in maintenance projects.

Maintenance is the core of the organization, the main activity we do to improve the conditions in the camp. It’s usually a tough task, you might find disgusting situations, you’re exposed to the weather and it’s sometimes repetitive; but it’s also the best way to learn the job (as you use many different tools and develop your plumbing skills) and to discover every corner of the camp. After a few weeks/months you start to get involved in more and more projects (rebuilding toilet facilities, electricity, more technical jobs, …) and gain new responsibilities as a long-term volunteer.

Watershed is an outstanding organization whose role is fundamental for the life of the people living in the camp. By joining them for a year I found a way to feel truly useful. I developed my technical skills, learnt invaluable lessons for my future and worked with amazing people that became a family for me. I hope to be back soon!”