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Our Students!
In December of 2016 I had the opportunity to volunteer as an English teacher in Eleousa, Greece, a small village near the Albanian border. The Habibi Center was founded by a couple of backpackers who understood the importance of educating teenagers during a very difficult transitional period within their lives. Logistically it has been a challenge for the Greek government to provide for tens of thousands who found themselves in limbo after the European Union essentially closed its doors. Greece was thus made a waiting room for victims of war at a time when its economy was so weak it couldn’t even provide for its own population. I didn’t know what to expect in a place where civilizations were meeting by force. What I witnessed however, was people from all walks of life working together to make things better, independently of the government and NGO’s.
Reminiscing on the experience I believe I learned just as much, if not more, from the kids than what I imparted. Their resilience and triumph over ongoing challenges was something very inspiring and humbling for me.
In a period of such darkness it is hard sometimes to see the light. For me, these children are that light, they’re the future and we need to invest in them. If we hope to break the cycles of war, violence and poverty, we need to spread education, tolerance and empathy. I look back fondly on my time spent in Greece and look forward to a second go around at the end of this year.
