Moving Docs Launches Crowdfunding Campaign to Support Refugee Children

In addition to raising awareness for the ongoing refugee crisis through documentaries such as The Longest Run and At Home in the World, the EDN-led Moving Docs programme recently launched a crowdfunding campaign to support the most helpless victims of today's crises: refugee children.

With thousands of refugee children stranded in the many refugee camps throughout Europe and a waiting time of up to several months before being able to attend official educational institutions, many of these children are loosing valuable time in camps while they should be going to school to learn and prepare for a better life. More than one in five refugee children in Greece have never been to school, and many of them cannot even hold a pencil, according to recent research by aid agency Save The Children.

The ” project in Greece is an initiative that managed to find a solution to this challenge, despite the desperate situation — and against all odds. There are over 3,000 people in the Skaramangas refugee camp, near Piraeus port. Half are children. About 600 of these kids receive 3 hours of schooling each week, thanks to the remarkable efforts of 20 refugees living within the camp who founded the “Hope School” as volunteer teachers, with the support of the unique network of the .

But 600 isn’t enough – all these children need school. So the volunteers are fighting to extend hours and give the children really good-quality teaching. As Dia, one of the Syrian volunteer teachers says, “We want the kids to feel they are in a real school. That they are normal kids like the others. So we hope to give them a classroom from the morning until the afternoon. We want to encourage the children to show up at lessons, so we will have more activities. It’s a lot easier if you have some fun in the school, besides learning.”

The Hope School Crowdfunding Campaign

Despite all these remarkable efforts, additional support is required to organize the lessons on a regular basis and to strengthen the educational infrastructure of the Hope School project and similar initiatives in refugee camps. With cash contributions, the Hope School crowdfunding campaing aims to achieve the following:

• acquire stationary provisions (pencils, notebooks, books) and craft materials for the Hope and the Plaka Open Schools to help build the children’s creativity, self-esteem and motivation

• provide per-diem allocation for refugee teachers participating in extracurricular activities outside the camps

• offer specialised training for refugee teachers in specialised fields (English, Greek, Maths, Art, Music, Gardening)

• offer bus transports for refugee children to a museum, open space, cinema or cultural venue in Athens

• establish vegetable gardens in the Scaramangas refugee camp to help the children introduce greenery in a cement environment and establish a positive connection with school and learning.

• employ interpreters to foster communication between the refugee children and Greek volunteer teachers

All other forms of support are of course also welcome, e.g. if you would like to contribute as a volunteer or with in-kind support (please see here for further details).

To support the campaign, please visit:

https://www.generosity.com/education-fundraising/hope-for-the-refugee-children-in-greece

Direct contact:

CineDoc

+30 210 7211073

 

 

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