![\"Metadrasi](\"https:\/\/metadrasi.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/METAdrasi_Volunteer_Eleni_1.webp\" "\\"Metadrasi")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Eleni has been volunteering with METAdrasi since late 2024. She started by teaching Greek to children aged 6 to 12 and, more recently, has also begun taking part in the escorting of unaccompanied children, working alongside METAdrasi\u2019s team to accompany them to accommodation facilities.<\/p>\n
She studied Social Policy at the University of the Peloponnese and is about to begin a Master\u2019s degree in Migration Policy and Human Rights. Her first contact with METAdrasi was while she was still a university student, when she was looking for an organisation where she could complete her internship.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt first, I wanted to do my internship here, but in the end it didn\u2019t work out. I stayed in touch with the people at METAdrasi, though, and at some point they asked me, \u2018Would you like to volunteer with us?\u2019 I thought, \u2018Why not?\u2019 \u2014 and that\u2019s how I got started<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n Eleni had no previous experience in education and, as she admits, the prospect of being in a classroom with children made her quite anxious at first.<\/p>\n \u201cI had no background in education at all, and I was really nervous about it. I kept wondering what it would be like and felt quite anxious. In the end, though, it turned out to be a truly wonderful experience<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n Before long, her interaction with the children became one of the most meaningful parts of her volunteering experience.<\/p>\n \u201cBeing with the children gives you so much. It refreshes and energises you. Every time I come here, I see or experience something new. Even if I\u2019ve had a bad day, when I arrive here, everything changes. I leave feeling very happy. Fulfilled<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n Through the Greek lessons, the relationship goes far beyond language learning. Over time, trust develops, and the children begin to share moments and stories from their lives: about their families, their first days in Greece, and the difficulties they may have faced.<\/p>\n \u201cAs we get to know each other better, they tell us stories about when they were younger, about how they came here, and about their families. Some may have parents who are far away, while others hardly get to see them because they work long hours. Little by little, they begin to trust us with their stories.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n One of the moments that has stayed with Eleni was a lesson about professions and what the children would like to become when they grow up.<\/p>\n \u201cWe made cards, and each child drew what they wanted to be when they grew up. They really loved it, and at the end they took their drawings home to show their parents. You could see their dreams there. Some want to become scientists, others doctors\u2026<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n For Eleni, moments like these are particularly powerful. Despite the language barriers, the children find ways to express what they hope to achieve.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is very moving to see that, even though some of them still cannot communicate easily in Greek, they know what they want and they tell you, \u2018I want to stay here and do this.\u2019 Another thing I really like is that the older children, who are more familiar with Greek, spontaneously help the younger ones<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n At the same time, Eleni has also experienced how difficult it can be to say goodbye. After METAdrasi\u2019s educational centre moved from Kallithea to Ano Patissia, she no longer sees the children with whom she had built a bond over the course of an entire year.<\/p>\n \u201cI used to see them every week. We would catch up, joke around and have fun together. The transition was difficult because now I don\u2019t know where they are or what they are doing. When you become used to that kind of connection, having to part ways affects you.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n More recently, Eleni decided to expand her volunteering by also taking part in the escorting of unaccompanied children. Here too, she encounters deeply human and emotional moments.<\/p>\n She vividly remembers a group of teenagers, around 16 or 17 years old, whom she recently accompanied to different accommodation facilities.<\/p>\n \u201cThey were trying to act grown-up and strong. But when the time came to say goodbye to their friends, they burst into tears. It was very moving<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n During the journeys and conversations along the way, the children often share where they come from and what they have been through, but also the small joys of everyday life.<\/p>\n \u201cA child might tell you excitedly, \u2018I had ice cream today!\u2019 And you can see the joy on their face. Something that might seem so simple to us can, for them, mean the whole world in that moment<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n For Eleni, volunteering is above all a way of being there for people wherever support is needed.<\/p>\n \u201cI like being able to help wherever and however I can. Volunteering really helps you develop empathy. You learn to see people and their experiences differently.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Her experience at METAdrasi has even changed the way she thinks about what she would like to do in the future. What began almost by chance gradually developed into something that now feels very close to her.<\/p>\n \u201cFor me, METAdrasi is the \u2018unexpected\u2019. I entered a field I had no connection with at all, and in the end I found myself saying, \u2018This is what I want to do.\u2019 It changes everything you thought you knew.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n And perhaps this is, for Eleni, the most important part of the volunteering experience: the fact that giving works both ways.<\/p>\n \u201cI might come here after a difficult day when everything has gone wrong. But once I\u2019m here, something changes. Every time, I leave happier. More fulfilled.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Eleni has been volunteering with METAdrasi since late 2024. She started by teaching Greek to children aged 6 to 12 and, more recently, has also begun taking part in the escorting of unaccompanied children, working alongside METAdrasi\u2019s team to accompany them to accommodation facilities. She studied Social Policy at the University of the Peloponnese and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":26116605,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","iawp_total_views":2,"footnotes":""},"categories":[124],"tags":[541],"dipi_cpt_category":[],"class_list":["post-26116609","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-announcements","tag-volunteers"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/metadrasi.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26116609","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/metadrasi.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/metadrasi.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metadrasi.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metadrasi.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26116609"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/metadrasi.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26116609\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26116611,"href":"https:\/\/metadrasi.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26116609\/revisions\/26116611"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metadrasi.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26116605"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/metadrasi.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26116609"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metadrasi.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26116609"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metadrasi.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26116609"},{"taxonomy":"dipi_cpt_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metadrasi.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/dipi_cpt_category?post=26116609"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}An unexpected start in education<\/strong><\/h4>\n
\u201cYou can see the children\u2019s dreams\u201d<\/strong><\/h4>\n
From the classroom to escorting unaccompanied children<\/strong><\/h4>\n
The value of volunteering<\/strong><\/h4>\n
![\"Metadrasi](\"https:\/\/metadrasi.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/METAdrasi_Volunteer_Eleni.webp\" "\\"Metadrasi")
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"