During the pandemic, the daily life of the unaccompanied children who have been in the refugee camps on the Greek islands for months, became even more difficult. Due to the continuous movement restrictions, the activities outside the camps, which are normally a big relief for the children, became impossible. While boardgames were in great demand, after some time, it became necessary for the children to release their energy, and for emphasis to be placed on physical and athletic activities.

In Kos, METAdrasi’s team and the children, calling on their imagination, transformed various materials into athletic equipment. Empty plastic bottles were filled with sand and turned into weights for the aspiring athletes! And so the exercise began: one, two – inhale, exhale. Everybody else living in the camp got together to watch the coordinated exercise class taking place in the Safe Area for unaccompanied children, from a fantastic caregiver, formerly a basketball coach!

Recently another activity was added; volleyball. Two columns were used for a volleyball net to be set up, a ball and a whistle were bought, and the game began immediately. With a lot of laughter, yelling, spikes, clapping. Some children knew the rules, others learned them on the spot. All of them made a happy memory, sweated, laughed, and the children, for a moment, forgot what an organised gym is, a real volleyball court, a normal home…

Safe Areas are part of MERIMNA project of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), funded by the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund of the European Union (DG HOME).