After two years of pandemic, we finally had our “vassilopita” celebration! We all met as we used to, to exchange wishes, to hug each other, to learn the news in the traditional way, and of course, to discover who would be the ones to find the lucky coins.

Following the tradition started in 2019 – where during the “vassilopita” celebration we award to members of our team that have made an outstanding achievement, one of the small medals that accompanied the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation prize – the medal this year was awarded to our interpreter, Ismail.

Ismail never stopped interpreting in the refugee camps and despite all the precautions he took, he got sick with coronavirus, and had to stay in intensive care for days, from where he emerged fully recovered. The medal was awarded by the President, Lora Pappa, stating that “in the person of our interpreter, we honor for their courage and dedication to METAdrasi’s goals all the teams that were on the front line in the mainland and at all entry points during the pandemic and who, especially in 2020 and despite the restrictions and the fear that prevailed, helped to ensure that none of our activities were interrupted, even during the lock down period: interpreters, unaccompanied children’s escorts, the teams of our teachers, guardians and care givers of children!”