Six months have passed since EEA Grants begun to support METAdrasi’s Transit Accommodation Facilities in Chios and Samos. The inauguration event that had been scheduled to take place after the summer, had to be postponed due to the second wave of the pandemic. After the lockdown, it became evident that we would have to resign in the use of technology in order to be able to host this event.
The new digital era allows us to host online meetings with HD video, audio and screen sharing, so we took advantage of every single aspect and held our virtual inauguration event, on Wednesday January 27, 2021.
A virtual tour was prepared and presented and along with the detailed but also emotional presentations given by the managers in Chios and Samos, all the participants were mentally transported to the islands, sharing fragments of the unaccompanied minors’ everyday lives in the Transit Accommodation Facilities.
The representative of EEA Grants Ms. Fola expressed her satisfaction for the cooperation with METAdrasi, remembering the fact that this is the third time they fund the Organization’s programs; under their support METAdrasi launched in 2015 the Guardianship Network and in 2016 the Foster Care program and now are happy to sustain an important program that offers a family environment for the children.
METAdrasi’s team members expressed their gratitude, underlining how crucial it is for accommodation facilities to operate on border islands so that unaccompanied children would not have to live in the harsh conditions of the camps.
The event was attended by Ms. Maria Fola, EEA Grants Adviser – Norwegian Embassy in Athens, the teams of the funds operators HumanRights360 and ΣΟΛ Crowe who we warmly thank for the constructive cooperation, Ms. Lora Pappa, President of METAdrasi and the teams of the Transit Accommodation Facilities in Chios and Samos.
METAdrasi’s Transit Accommodation Facilities have a total capacity of 40 children and constitute a safe and appropriately designed space for unaccompanied minors. Particular emphasis is placed on creating a family atmosphere and the participation of children in the daily life of their home. Trained staff provides care to children by ensuring their daily needs are met, psychological support and medical care is delivered and recreational and educational activities are offered, with particular emphasis given to the interaction with local island communities.
Funded by EEA and Norway Grants
Fund operated by ΣΟΛ Crowe and HumanRights360