It was the beginning of the school year when a primary school principal in the region of Attica contacted us looking for ways to help a young refugee student. The little girl knew no Greek at all, and as a result she was isolated and gloomy in class, making no progress whatsoever.
METAdrasi immediately organized frequent visits of an interpreter at the school: every week, after class and with the presence of her caring teacher, the little girl slowly began learning her first words in Greek. Additionally, the director of the school organized several meetings with the little girl’s parents and with the invaluable support of an interpreter.
The results were spectacular. The little girl began to socialize and perform well in her class. Now, she even shares the same desk with one of her Greek classmates, commented one of her teachers.
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METAdrasi’s certified interpreters are called upon every day to facilitate the communication between teachers, students and their parents, essentially supporting the integration of children in school. Since the beginning of the school year, our interpreters have carried out more than 2,250 interpreting sessions in 46 different languages, in 379 schools throughout Greece (Attica, Central Greece, Macedonia, Epirus and the islands).
METAdrasi’s activity “Interpretation for Education” is implemented in co-operation with the Ministry of Education and operates within the framework of the programme “All Children in Education”, a UNICEF Greece initiative in collaboration with the Ministry of Migration and Asylum, co-funded by the European Union, and implemented in collaboration with a number of partners, including METAdrasi.
