Summerproject "lampetia" in thessaloniki
What?
This summer our two robins Debora and Meret will be returning to Thessaloniki. For their summer project "Lampetia" they want to work in different camps in and around Thessaloniki. They will return to the classrooms and teach English and want to offer summer activities to residents. As temperatures rise up to 45 degrees, people stuck in camps and apartments are desperate to catch a fresh breeze on one of Northern Greeces many beaches. Our Robins will try their hardest to offer this opportunity to as many people as possible..
How?
The plan is to offer different excursions to the sea, sights in the area and natural parks. Fortunately we were provided with an old Swiss Army van that can fit at least 9 people. The aim is to take people on excursions multiple times a week and to teach Englisch classes on all the other days.
What do we need?
Having worked in the camp schoool in Alexandreia last winter, school materials are always scarce and needed. To make teaching and learning easier for all of those involved, we would like to invest part of your donations in the classrooms.
For the summer activities we need financial support for fueling the van, which costs approximately 100 Euros a tank. In addition we want to provide sunscreen and umbrellas for our participants, as well as picnics and water.
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"Pame projekt" in thessaloniki
What?
Many of the refugees in Greece have the right to, or are obliged to, stay in Greece. For some, this is where they have received asylum; for others Greece is the country in which they wait, some even for years, until they are relocated elsewhere in Europe. In Greece, these refugees live scattered across the whole country, including Thessaloniki. Thessaloniki is where we want to strike up our project. We want to give everyday support to those who stay here, just as we support those who move elsewhere, and to help them build up ‘normal lives‘. We want to help give them perspective, and a reason to get up every morning feeling like they have a purpose. We want to make it possible for them to become active, and thereby to break out of the vicious circle of lethargy and depression. We hope that they will thus regain a sense of self-worth and self-determination. The capacity of the Greek state to carry and support these people is limited. Recognised refugees receive very limited aid and are often directed to non-profit organisations. In order for them to become independent and to be able to master their own livelihoods once more, we want to offer them aid through our project.
How?
Concretely, this means that we try to help introduce people as individuals (quality before quantity) to the job market – by taking care, for example, of the costs of professional Greek courses, conversion courses for all kinds of diplomas, public transport tickets, or by offering our own English courses. This is the basic idea; setting in motion the steps towards everyday independence whilst being able to focus on the individual requirements of each person. Indeed, the past two years‘ work in this field have taught us that things change quickly, and that one must always remain flexible. In order to construct the project meaningfully and sustainably we are now on location to discuss ideas and enquiries with the target-group, as well as to talk about collaboration with other organisations. Nothing lies further from our aims than forcing an inefficient singled-handed initiative that will waste resources and time.
What do we need?
Luckily at the moment we have enough Robins for the (current) planning and execution of the project. We are, however, lacking the financial support to cover the minimum living expenses (accommodation, petrol, food, insurance etc.) of our Thessaloniki-resident Robin. In addition to this we need the financial means to offer the people on our program good courses and further education opportunities. All donations are thus welcome and much appreciated!
Likewise, the more people we want to support with our scheme, the greater our expenditure will be. These figures will first become clear in the summer, however. In order to be well armed for all eventualities, our current goal is to gather enough donations to get the project underway. Throughout the process we will be reporting on our progress on this Blog.