It’s been a few months since last time we posted some updates about life in Athens, once again not because the activity of the centre has decreased but all the contrary.
The summer was packed with the usual English lessons in the afternoons as well as different interesting short-term workshops in the mornings.
First, thanks to the donation of several laptops from the USA and the collaboration of Rick, a volunteer from the same country, we were able to plan a 2-week workshop about the basic use of a laptop and the introduction to MS Word, Google tools, and typing.
Without any time to breathe, Anne, a volunteer from Finland who has already collaborated with Habibi Center in other occasions, came to carry out a new art project. This time, the students created 2 self-portraits with the collage technique. One of them represented their inside, showing their fears, goals, skills, life experiences, and personal views of their daily life in Greece. The second one showed their external appearance. Alongside the 2 self-portraits, they expressed with words some of their personal information as well as the reasons why they composed the inside portrait in that way. After 2 weeks of intense work, we exhibited the work in a café, so that everybody could have a better idea of the thoughts of this youth.
Right after the successful art project, Rick turned the laptops on one more time to help carry out his second workshop with a new group of students. In addition, Stephanie helped others create their own CVs.
Next, it was Anahí’s turn, a photographer and volunteer from Spain who helped carry out a pinhole camera workshop. Several students made their own camera with a shoebox and played with them for 1 week as well as learning about the classic developing process. Although there wasn’t enough time to do as much as was planned, the students were able to experiment and enjoy this distinctive technique.
Finally, Javier, a Spanish friend who has supported Habibi Center since its beginnings, brought his experience to Athens and carried out a science workshop for 1 week. Two groups of students enjoyed learning about different aspects of science, such as the Universe, the Biosphere, the Hydrosphere, life and cells, the properties of the light, and the basics of electricity.
After a long summer, the regular course of Greek schools started again and all the students eventually came back to routine. At the same time, teachers in Habibi Center had again the difficult task of trying to accommodate to each student’s schedule as much as possible. Now that the groups have been finally set, around 40 students are able to continue attending regular lessons in the centre. Moreover, 2 of those groups have already started preparing for the following Cambridge exams, KET and PET, expected for next December 2019.
Once again, all these achievements are not only thanks to the volunteers who share their time here in Athens but equally important thanks to the help of many people spread all over the world, either with material and financial donations or simply spreading the word about us.
