CHICAGO, IL (October 29, 2015) — Covenant World Relief has provided a grant to Medical Teams International (MTI) to provide hygiene kits and other necessary items to thousands of refugees fleeing Syria and seeking safety in Greece.

At least 5,000 people a day are making the treacherous journey to enter Greece. They are being housed at overcrowded refugee centers until they receive their official registration papers. They cannot move on to other locations in Europe until they receive their papers.

According to the MTI grant application, “The conditions at the centers are grim, with litter and stagnant water covering the ground, insufficient toilet facilities, and often an unclear registration process that leave refugees frustrated and fearful.” The weather also is worsening.

Funds from the grant will provide hygiene kits for women and babies, basic first-aid items, and other necessities such as blankets and plastic sheets to help shield the refugees from the increasingly worsening weather.

A spokesman from the United Nations High Commission on Refugees said, “We need to restore their dignity.”

Covenant World Relief has set up a special fund to further its work with refugees.