projectgreece

Mission Accomplished!

2007-06-15T11:04:00.000-07:00

Well, we have closed the books on another successful program at KEPEP. It is hard to believe our time is over here with the children. We have all made such incredible memories that I know we will never forget. The other night, Spyros and Betsie sat down with all of us and really summarized our work the best. They thanked us for teaching them, their town, their community and most importantly their children the importance of accepting others, volunteerism, respect and love. On our last day, I went to a few shop owners to say goodbye and Aki, the owner of the appliance store shared with me his appreciation for our work. He has always asked why we come to Greece to do the work we do, why do we come to his town? I told him it was our will and desire to provide the knowledge and understanding of the work we do with this town and he just shook my hand and said 'thank you for all that you have done for these children, but more so what you have done for my town, the people here. They will never forget you crazy Americans!'

That pretty much sums it up! We "Crazy Americans" have traveled half way across the world to raise the level of awareness needed in this community to institute change - and guess what, we were successful! 10 TV interviews later the community has a better understanding and appreciation of the needs at KEPEP. I can honestly say that I feel in my heart that change is on the horizon for Siderokastro, Greece. In the near future there will be more programs, more opportunities and most of all more awareness for these children. The babies we worked with this year will be part of this community in the future, not just housed on top of the hill!

Thank you everyone for your prayers, your support, you financial support, you words of encouragement, and most of all your love for the work we do!

Entering Into Our Last Week

2007-06-10T12:15:00.000-07:00

Wow, how time has flew by! It is so amazing to realize we are entering into our last week here with the kids at KEPEP. I know this week will be very hard on everyone, but we know the work we are doing means so much. Tomorrow (Monday) we will take a group of kids on a field trip to Serres to visit a sweet shop factory. I think this may be their first field trip!

The kids are responding so well to the work we are doing. I can only hope that they will continue to experience the love, dedication, and support we have started here in the weeks, months, years to come. Their smiles tell us this is so important and we know others see this as well.

The Big Event

2007-06-10T12:07:00.000-07:00

Last night was our "Big Event" and was it a big event!! Our host threw us a Thank You party that was much more than any of us expected. There were well over 100 people in attendance which included the Consulate General for the US, Canada, and Australia. There were also members of the Parliament, the highest ranking officer for the Greek military, TV crews from every news station, and THE BISHOP, and so many other people.

Our Consulate said some amazing things to us and made us feel very proud of the work we are doing. Each person who spoke reminded us of the importance of the work we are doing here and committed their support to carry on the change we have started. We were all very honored to be recognized for the work we do everyday back home.

Making Memories!

2007-06-05T02:40:00.000-07:00

Wow, time is passing by so fast! We are having such a great time with the children. As I mentioned earlier, we are running two programs so we are able to see more kids than originally expected. The children are really getting used to us and enjoy the activities we are providing. Music and arts and crafts continue to be some of the favorites. We are convinced that Fasula has learned how to say 'bubbles' because she continues to ask for them - if she isn't doing music with Joanne!

George continues to laugh and clap at everything we do. The babies are really enjoying all the different activities. One little guy loves the light sticks and flashlights. He will follow the light throughout the room. It rained today, so we weren't able to take the group outside, but when we do - they do really like it. The towns people walk by and wave. This is such a change from the previous visit when people would walk the other way.

Tomorrow night, the local Rotary Club is holding a special dinner for us. Saturday night there is another large celebration for us as well. Rumor has it that the Consulate General for the US, Canada and Australia will all be in attendance. It is like we are famous or something!

We have been able to take many pictures and some video. We look forward to sharing all our adventures and memories with you all upon our return!

Successes of Week 1

2007-06-01T02:24:00.000-07:00

It is hard to believe we have already completed our first week of the program. It is amazing to look at the impact it has made already. As the children see us, their faces light up and they really know what is happening. The first day, there were a few who weren't with us before who were a little unsure about us, but now, they are all so excited and engaged. I truly think that many of the children do remember us from our previous visit.

The staff are also more engaged. It seems they appreciate and what to be part of our program. They are very impressed with all the resources we brought with us too.

Fasula and Marina have let us know that the bubbles are one of their favorite activities with a close second being 'outside' time. George still loves his puppets and arts and craft activities. Sofia loves the mirror and Mikinos (The Mayor as we know him!) loves to play catch - he can really catch too! Music is another big hit for everyone. We are going to try to have music played throughout the institution before we leave!

The town continues to support our efforts. We are pretty obvious walking down the streets (imagine 11 Americans who don't speak a word of Greek). Although not everyone really understands what or why we are doing this program, they continue to support us in their own little ways.

Day 1 - Take Two

2007-05-30T05:03:00.000-07:00

Today was the first day with the children. Wow, what an experience. It was awesome to realize how many of them actually remembered us and were laughing as they arrived. They loved the music, the shaving cream and just our touch. We worked with a few new children who didn't work with us before and weren't 100% sure about us crazy Americans!

Many of you may remember Fasula (she was in many of the original pictures with me from 4 years ago), I wish I could describe the way her face lit up when Joanne started the music. She practically jumped out of her seat.

Our Program Advances

2007-05-30T04:54:00.000-07:00

We have had an amazing first few days here in Greece. After the warm reception we received from the town we got right down to business. We started by meeting with the staff from the orphanage. We planned our days and determined which children we are going to work with. We are actually running two programs because there are so many of us. This is allowing us to maximize our time by working both at the community center and at the orphanage (KEPEP). The town all knows why we are here and are treating us very well.

The Bishop authorized some great improvements to the community center. The entire center was painted (inside and outside!) and the whole center had new tile added as well as an air conditioner.

We also learned of some awesome news! They are starting two new programs here in town. The first is a transitional program for the adults at KEPEP who are higher functioning. This is a program where for six months they will transition to an assisted living facility outside of the orphanage located here in town.

The other program is the most exciting...we learned yesterday that they are opening a special day school in September for 5-8 children with special needs at the community center we are working at. This program will carry through the work we have started and will be offered throughout the year. We were so excited to hear the progress they had made towards these efforts.

Yesterday Joanne and I were on a local talk show discussing what we were here doing. We learned that every Tuesday our project will be highlighted on this talk show and a news crew will be coming to film a day at our program to air on their show.

There has been a lot of attention paid to the work we are doing and the community is really starting to move our project forward. It is amazing to see how the seed we planted is growing!

2007-05-28T11:19:00.000-07:00

Well, we arrived tonight. After over 30 hours we finally made it to town. (With all our bags and boxes - even though I left my luggage and box in the middle of the airport. I blame it on the language barrier when the announced not to leave your luggage unattended!) We were greeted with a reception at the airport. The president, treasurer, secretary and PR secretary for the AHEPA of Serres was there, as well as the Minister of Health and Human Services. From there we drove another 2 hours to town. We went up to KEPEP and had even more of a warm welcome - 3 TV stations were there to film us and interview us! I drew the short straw and should be on Greek TV tonight. Tomorrow Joanne and I will be on a talk show discussing our project and why we are here. We will go up to KEPEP tomorrow morning prior to the TV show to sit with the children and have them start getting acquainted with us again. On Wednesday we will start to bring them down to the community center.

I will post more information tomorrow - we are heading back to the hotel now after a VERY long day!

Project Dates

2007-05-17T18:49:00.000-07:00

We are scheduled to leave Phoenix on Sunday, May 27 and will arrive in Greece on Monday, May 28. We will spend a few weeks at the orphanage and will return home on June 20.

Project Greece History

2007-05-17T18:35:00.000-07:00

During the summer of 2004, I had the unique opportunity to travel to Greece to visit an institution that houses children and young adults with disabilities. That trip led me to recruit a team of volunteers to travel back to Sidirokastro, Greece. During the summer of 2005 our team of volunteers developed and implemented a community day program where children and young adults from Agios Nektarios experienced the love and attention they need and deserve. We are excited to share that we are preparing to return to Sidirokastro to work with these disabled children and young adults during the summer of 2007.

Some of these children have been abandoned by their families and placed in institutions; others are there because the parents lack the resources to care for them. When I first started traveling to Sidirokastro three years ago, there were NO on-going programs, not even for education or recreation. There is such minimal human contact; the children don’t let you go when you hold them. We understand that we cannot swiftly change the government’s support for the disabled in Greece, but we can develop a program whereby (even if it is just for a short time each summer) children and residents of this institution will experience the love and attention they need and deserve. One of the most exciting pieces of news that has come from our work came to us just a few weeks ago. We recently learned from our host family that the Minister of Education is working to assign two teachers to work with the children and young adults at this institution. This development tells us that the work we do is making a difference in this community and we are committed to continuing our work.

The community of Sidirokastro has invited to travel back to Greece and help those involved with these children and young adults better understand their potential and needs, and to make their lives better. We are thrilled with the opportunity to do such a project with this population and to instruct the caretakers in these state sponsored institutions. We will continue to set the groundwork for others to continue.

Our team represents volunteer special education teachers, physical therapists, music therapists, and occupational therapists. We have developed and delivered a program that allows children and young adults to participate in a fun-loving program that will provide them with experience arts and crafts, music therapy, sensory motor activities, and active games.

To learn more about our project call us, email us, or visit our website at http://www.projectgreece.org/. Our website includes information about our project as well as a short video from our previous visits.