The Hellenic Initiative (THI) announces a donation of $100,000 to the METAdrasi NGO for the creation of the only unaccompanied minors’ accommodation facility on the island of Samos. The accommodation facility is for children from countries affected by violence and conflict, who have lost their parents or have been separated from them. This is the second Transition Accommodation Facility for Unaccompanied Minors created at the borders of the country by METAdrasi with the sponsorship of The Hellenic Initiative; the first was opened in Lesvos in December 2015.
The Samos facility is capable of accommodating 20 children and has already offered care and support to the children, most of whom are under the age of fifteen, and who are from Syria and Afghanistan. It currently hosts, among others, three siblings, two young boys and a girl, whose father was killed in Syria. Their older cousin (16 years) has remained with them, having promised to their mother, who is in Germany with the smaller sibling of the family, that he will transfer them there in safety. Every child who reaches the accommodation facility has their own story….
The aim of the accommodation facility is to ensure that these children, immediately upon their arrival on the island, are protected from trafficking and exploitation networks, offering them hospitality within a safe environment.
Besides hosting, the facilities offer children food, psychological and social support, interpretation services, medical care, as well as creative activities. Moreover, there are legal support services at the facilities undertaking the search for relatives, in order to reunite children with them in another member-state of the European Union.
“Recognizing the importance of METAdrasi’s efforts, as well as the significant meaning of the sensitive issues it deals with, The Hellenic Initiative decided to contribute to its actions through the support of the second unaccompanied minors’ hospitality structure created by METAdrasi in Samos”, said Michael Printzos, The Hellenic Initiative Director of Programming.
“This project is a real achievement”, mentioned the METAdrasis President Lora Pappa, referring to the organization’s huge efforts to secure funding for the implementation of this significant initiative. “We would like to thank The Hellenic Initiative (THI) which supported this effort”. She also noted that “this action fills a big gap at the borders of the country and our cooperation with local communities in Lesvos and Samos, which have stood by our side with touching interest, has been very important. These accommodation facilities are part of the original METAdrasis protection network for unaccompanied minors in our country, while also including escorting, coaching and temporary hospitality in a family environment, as well as legal support”.
