After successfully running the Habibi Center in Eleousa, our support was no longer needed in Epirus region since last January 2017 as some other organisations eventually decided to run some educational projects for the youth who had been attending our centre and still staying in that region.
It wasn’t an easy decision to say goodbye to a place where our project was welcome with wide open arms from the very beginning. We cannot ignore what ELEOUSA means in Greek: TENDERNESS, SHOWING MERCY.
We had a feeling that we had made a good choice when we chose this small village on the outskirts of Ioannina to become our operations centre. Time definitely proved us right.
Everyone there, with no exception, was determined to help in any possible way: facilitating the spaces where to run our learning activities, helping readapt them for our purposes, donating material stuff to all parts – centre, volunteers and students-, facilitating other spaces such as a football pitch to run some sportive activities, and, way above all the previously described, treating and considering the attending students as new neighbours, without refugee tags in front. All those features perfectly matched with our principles as educational and integrative project.
Habibi Center would like to express its gratitude for all the hospitality of the people of Eleousa, without that help and support Habibi Center would not have been able to be what it is at present.
All the members of this project who lived that experience, including both volunteers and students, will surely have some space in our memories to remember this tiny but lovely place.
