End of March the last group of the refugee support had already set out tour, to support refugees – again according to Idomeni. There, they helped a school for which to build children had attended no classes often for years and adults. A report by a special project.
The entrance to the school
The 09.April started the "idomeni cultural center", in which children and adults lessons can get. The project has been initiated by the IHA and carried out. Florentine, which was broken on tour with the refugee support after Idomeni, wrote that day: "the first greeting was incredibly loud, messy and full of joy. The morning is for the children. From 9 am to 3 pm, you have music, sports, art. Learn math, English, Arabic and Kurdish. Read and write. In the afternoon, the adults are taught. Us, it is important that access to education and a way to deal with there for the older one. The focus of organizations in idomeni is, if anything, on the children. Of course. They are fragile, vulnerable. But also the adults and young people have things seen and experienced, we can not imagine and are also the people who take care of the kids and educate them.
The men and women of German and English calligraphy learn from 15:30. Another German woman, and I teach German. We are the only teachers who are not from the camp. First we wanted to offer no german lessons, because we know that it can stir up false hopes. At the moment, none after Germany comes and many are never going to make it. "But it so many people have us addressed, that we still have decided at the end to give the lessons."
A week later Florentine reported:
"Our school/cultural center grows. Meanwhile, more than a hundred children attend our small school. There are also Farsi lessons. Yesterday we have distributed packed, new backpacks with toys, school supplies and clothing, we have received donated by three German men.
We organize toilets and proper sink. Therapy hours there and an information point for the existing asylum procedures. We are planning a focal point to which people can turn, if you experience violence against children or suspect.
We plan, organize and develop together with the people from the camp, the above all of the build, often understand more than we. This school is not a permanent solution and it may not be also. We want to offer only a temporary way to people, to learn, to teach others and to make the best out of this hopeless situation."
Last week Florentine wrote:
Today, we had about 170 children in the classes from 9: 00-14:00. This means of course more work. Grade we working on a system to register, to the classes help you plan the child with name and age. Now, there are four compartments at the same time, to allow all children a quality education – and of course the teacher not to madness to drive. Since yesterday, we are in cooperation with psychologists, who will start their first therapy sessions for children and adults from tomorrow. Workshops are planned special anti-violence, because many children due to their strong trauma violent with each other have a very strong. Adults also. We need to handle them. This is no normal school and not a normal place to live is idomeni. It's actually at all, no place to live.
Florentine with a family in Idomeni
Yesterday we got with a Syrian dentist in the team of teachers, who will give the kids "Tooth brushing instruction". Many have strong teeth problems, because they take so much sugar the sweet tea and bad food and often don't even have a toothbrush. Every day come new teachers and students. We are every day from 9: 00-21:00 in the school. It is only possible because many private individuals and NGOs support us with donations of money and school supplies. The main tent to the ground. The sun protection. The outdoor soil. The benches. The smaller side tent. The daily breakfast and lunch. Notebooks, sheets and pens. Textbooks and bilingual dictionaries. We financially alone never could lift it. The opening of the "Idomeni cultural center" is a milestone for all of us here and we are very happy and proud of this place, because it is a small bright spot in Idomeni.
