SOS Children in Greece
Greece, the southernmost part of the Balkan Peninsula and numerous islands in the Aegean and Ionian Sea, with its Mediterranean climate, beautiful scenery and rich cultural heritage, is for many of us synonymous with the perfect holiday destination. However it faces a wide range of economic and social problems, and there is considerable poverty still.
SOS Children began its work in Greece in 1982 with the construction of the first community at Vari, about 25 km from Athens. In the province of Attica on the coastal road at the foot of the Hymetus Mountain, it enjoys wonderful views over the sea. Vari has thirteen family houses with a youth house at nearby Voula where the SOS children in their teens take their first steps to independence while studying or acquiring skills for the future. Children from the SOS Children’s community attend the local schools in Vari.
Plans for the second community in Greece began in 1994 at Plagiari, a small village of around 2000 people about 18 km east of Thessaloniki. The first mothers and children moved into the ten family houses in 1998. As in Vari, the children attend local schools and are well integrated into the community. Two playgrounds and a sports field provide plenty of space for games and recreation.
In 1999 SOS Children established an SOS Social Centre in a deprived area of Athens where there is very little help available for families with social and educational problems. Like all SOS social and welfare centres, the aim is to help families to support themselves and their children by providing day care facilities, medical care for expectant mothers and training in life skills as well as counselling services.
The charity will begin work in 2004 on a third community in Thrace in northern Greece. As well as the normal family houses, the village will have a day care centre for children with special needs.
Local Contacts
SOS Children’s Villages Greece, Ermou 6, 10563 Athens
tel: +30 1/323 80 48 fax: +30/1/322 66 52
Next Country: Guinea