Hi to all the Rev Themi & Friends and supporters everywhere,

Today the PK4A Brisbane Team (Australia) finished up at the Brisbane’s Greek Community Paniyiri Greek Festival.

Each year it is estimated more than over 50,000 people pass through the festival and this was our first year with a stall at the Paniyiri.

It’s hard to imagine but with the amount of food that was eaten over the two days, it probably would have fed hundreds of thousands in West Africa where Fr Themi is. And we in the developed world should be thankful of the blessings of who we are and where we live and having said that, as Fr Themi says, let us not forget the poor.

And thats why we had our own stall set up showing PK4A videos and handing out information to everyone.

Yesterday (day one) some of the PK4A boys Harry (brother), Harry (cousin) and Sam (cousin) started the day entertaining the crowds and sharing the PK4A love and faith !

Later in the afternoon Eleni and some Gold Coast PK4A supporters Katarina, Helen, Manos and Matthaios and others came and volunteered. Everyone did such a great job bringing awareness to the community about Father Themi’s mission and raising funds.

Today Yiota and I started the morning at the Paniyiri – later Themelina and Philip joined us and helped out, we even had a cut out of a PK4A Koala for children to take photos with. It was another successful day, sharing the word of God and making the community aware of Fr Themi and what PK4A is and our upcoming fundraising events. 

First, I would like to say a big thank you to the Greek Community of St George Brisbane, they were very kind to allow us this opportunity and especially to Mr Chris Kazonis, who coordinates the Paniyiri and has supported PK4A for many years. 

I would also like to thank  everyone who contributed to this, the first PK4A Brisbane Paniyiri stall, everyone who came and said hello and everyone who donated and although the funds collected may seem trivial and small in this country,($1,100), it will help Feed, Educate and Clothe some 220 children over the next month.

And finally, with the communities blessing, I hope we can do this every year to raise awareness and spread the word of what Father Themi does by following the word of God.

Jacqui T from Brisbane Australia.

Dear Rev Themi and friends

Christ is Risen!

This was the first year in my life as an Orthodox Christian where I was able to fully participate in Holy week and really experience the Passion of the Lord, from his betrayal, his agony and suffering followed by his life-giving Resurrection.

Each day there was something new to actively learn and reflect upon. Had I been in south China (as was the case for four years) I would have focused little attention on Holy week aside from some reading and prayer time. Had I been in Australia, I would have juggled my work commitments, family obligations and other `important’ duties to attend some of the services. But I am now in Sierra Leone. Who would have thought that I would have to travel to a small West African country to experience the fullness of Holy week in such an upfront and personal way?

As the procession with the icon of the Crucified Christ began, I was confronted with the suffering and sacrifice of Christ for my salvation. Under the leadership of Reverend Themi, the services and sermons were dramatic and moving. Although Orthodoxy is very young in Sierra Leone (5 years) its foundation is rooted in `right worship’ and `right practice’. Truly it is a blessing to be here.

Our Orthodox Youth fellowship is doing well. King David and I visited many families last month and had the chance to talk with parents/ guardians about the program. It was indeed an eye opener to see the living conditions and hear their stories. The youth members always come clean and well-dressed to fellowship, so I naively assumed the homes must be reasonably comfortable…. but I was mistaken. I also discovered that several of the youth live with their fellow youth members (parent either moved to the provinces or other circumstances prevent them from living with their own families). It is heart-warming to for me to see families take in other children despite their own poverty and lack of space.

Aside from the financial support we provide, there is another more important element to our youth ministry: Orthokoinonia.

We want the youth to develop a sense of family within the church. So we spend time with them; we attend school functions, support their spiritual and emotional needs, listen to them and look out for them. I have been involved in youth work for many years in my parish at St George in Brisbane but never experienced such a desire (from the youth) for adults to be involved in their lives.

You see here, parental role models are limited, many live with guardians or just one parent and life is on a daily survival basis. I believe this is why the families welcomed our input into the lives of their children. The extra helping hand is not just about money, it is about caring and guiding the growth and development of these young people in all areas (spiritual, emotional, social and intellectual).

College News

We have now finished our first semester at the college. The I.T students have just completed their exams and the Education students begin theirs this week, so it is a busy time at the college.

Many thanks for the scholarship donations, they will go a long way in helping not just individual students but the college too as we grow and expand courses offered in 2014.

Our beautiful library now has ceiling fans and is comfortable and welcoming. There are books galore. Many are still being categorized and placed on the shelves as this is an ongoing task (as we still have many boxes of books to sort through).

I love walking into the library and seeing students reading text books and sitting in quiet corners reading and taking notes or organising themselves in study groups.

We still have a few students needing help with college fees. The annual scholarship fee is only $300 if you would like to and can help- please use Paypal at this link – your money will be going directly where it counts. 

Until next month….many thanks for reading the blogs, for your comments, your prayers and your financial support.

Eleni

Hi Everyone

Christ be with you.

We have now entered the Church’s most sacred period, that of Holy Week on our spiritual journey towards the triumphal victory over death – the final enemy – of the Risen Christ.

This morning we celebrated Palm Sunday in Freetown with our cathedral all decked out with palm branches (thanks to the Orthodox Youth Fellowship, ably led by Brisbane’s Eleni McDerrmott (supported by Mary Adams from Melbourne).

Here, on Monday is Independence Day, so before the celebration of the Evening Holy Week service we plan to hand out clothing and other items, from our containers, to the disabled communities which regularly attend our churches. I would like to personally thank everyone involved with PK4A-AU and  P4k-USA for their selfless and amazing work in keeping and making our mission to West Africa’s disadvantaged possible.

This video clearly shows passion and appreciation that the children have for all the sponsors, they understand that without your help their lives would be so different. Here the youth group sit down ever exited for a meal; and only because of your generosity through PK4A-AU & P4K-USA.  

So, as we reflect and meditate this week on the extraordinary sufferings of Christ, in order that we might find a place in the Kingdom of Heaven, let us also bear in mind that the Suffering and Crucified Christ identifies Himself with the suffering of the poor and the fragile of this earth.   

It is therefore a spiritual contradiction to worship the Crucified Christ in a Church setting and then simply deny or ignore those who have been crucified, crushed hopelessly beaten by poverty and disability.

The two are the same, as we hear our Lord Jesus saying – “I was hungry, thirsty, sick and without clothes and you came to me….” Please help someone who is poor this Holy Week  while also attending as many of the Holy Week Services as is possible. This will bring a mighty blessing to you and your family. and if you can, please help this ministry using our Paypal services.

Kali Anasatasi

In Christ the Crucified With fraternal and paternal blessings

Rev. Themi Freetown

Since my arrival in Sierra Leone I have heard many desperate stories of survival from young and old and have seen many tragedies in the streets and everywhere else. After a while you realise that your whole sense for being here is to solve a myriad of challenges even for a moment. You may be sitting in the car going to church, to the supermarket, to the stationary shop, to the local market or even just walking across to the College and you are bombarded with people begging for money, any amount. It is such a depressing and heart wrenching sight even though you know some may not be as authentic, you give and you give over and over again because as Father Themi says it is just as if you are giving to Christ Himself.

The other day I saw a young girl of about 14 years old selling watermelons pleading with me through the car window for me to purchase a watermelon, when I saw her carrying such a heavy load on her head under the hot sun I thought that she was probably sent out in the morning with instructions to sell as many as possible. The money she would earn would probably go towards her school fees. In this country if you unable to pay school fees or other school expenses you are unable to sit for your exams. I could not just pass by I had to buy two, it was only then that she smiled.

Every day at the College more stories of woe, students come and speak to me about their hardships in paying part or all of their fees. I can see the pain in their eyes hoping the response will not be the inability to sit for their exams or even worse the cessation of their course. All have their stories and I listen to each and every one of them. One of which that is very vivid in my mind is a father with two young daughters in Primary school whose wife left him and is now taking care of his daughters. He works part time in a local market cutting cassava leaves (a local vegetable). He receives an equivalent of $10 a week and with this he is paying his fees, clothing and feeding his two young girls, paying transport which can be very expensive, medical bills etc. He begged me to allow him to stay on at the college even though he cannot afford it, as he sees a brighter future for his family once he gets an education.

These situations weigh heavily down on your heart and they are everywhere and you are exposed to them daily. You start to feel that whatever you do it’s just a small ripple in the big ocean. These feelings can cause you many sleepless nights praying for strength and answers.

And then out of the blue you receive an email saying that the students of the Junior School at Oakleigh Grammar (my old school) had a Social Justice Day and collected money for the children of Africa. The students were asked to collect coins to lay on their House line in the yard. Students brought along coins (silver and gold) and laid them side by side to form a trail. It was the students who drove the event. The day was meant to foster an understanding of social justice and community outreach.

It did just that, I no longer felt alone struggling with my feelings of helplessness. These young children were reaching out and trying to make a ‘difference’ in this world. It is not the amount that they raised that matters it is the fact that the children cared enough, even though they are so far away from this situation, to put the effort and give to help others whom they have never seen or are ever likely to see.

Scholarship Programme

We are hoping to start a scholarship programme whereby all students who need assistance in both I.T and Education faculties are sponsored by a donor from overseas. The college also needs funds to meet its daily running costs. But at the same time we want to make education accessible to all and give young people the opportunity to improve their situation. We would like all our current students who are enrolled with us this year to be able to continue their studies. The two year Higher Teaching Certificate students will be making history by being the first cohort of early childhood graduates in Sierra Leone Therefore, we humbly ask for donors to come forward and offer $300 for the payment of the yearly college fees.

Please donate by paypal and help us as we need you in order to assist those who cannot make it on their own. Just like the children at Oakleigh Grammar you can make a difference and change the life of one person.

Mary Adams

Dear Brother Louee,

to be candid, the initiative you brought for the establishment of the Orthodox Youth Fellowship(OYF),  this  is timely intervention of God through your idea for a society like ours.  This idea is more functional compare to that of the old one and in this regard, it has a
mixture of both social and spiritual benefit to our children.

Truly, there  is presently not much connection between our children and God due to the lack of such initiatives which from my observation, if this kind of step is taken by all in Sierra Leone, it will be of great advantage to us,  than just letting our children doing what they feel like which is detrimental to their future.

I want to extend my personal appreciation for the timely presence of Eleni, who over the period has been complementing the work of Father in teaching and preaching to the kids about the importance of God and the gains one may acquire if heor she chooses to come nearer to Him and do what He says.

Presently, since most of our kids come from humble family background, parents are not interested to teach their children what they should know about God and their existence on earth and many of the ended up in associating themselves in violent gang groups that are always perpetrating unrest for our society.

I must confest that this your initiative is a laudable one and it’s continue sustainably, will in the future gradually help change the mind set of of society here in Sierra Leone
My regards in Christ

Brother King David

Dear Rev Themi & Friends

I have been here almost 2 months now and trying to keep up with my commitment of one blog per month. As I reflect on my time here, I realize how intellectually prepared I was for this work but how emotionally unprepared I was!

It is a daily roller coaster of emotions here and they take you to the top one day and bring you crashing down the next. I am not someone who gives up easily however, and with the support of Mary Adams and Father Themi, I am learning to stay on the roller coaster ride regardless of emotions. Like my students, I am therefore hopeful that I too will pass the tests ahead of me.

Students and the College

In the last 10 years I have mostly taught in the adult education field. I find adult learners to be very motivated, hardworking and eager to scaffold their knowledge. They are also an endless source of learning for me as they bring their cultural experiences, skills and knowledge to the learning environment with a passion `to make a difference’. Most of the students at the Orthodox Christian College of West Africa, know that without the help of Father Themi, they would never have had the opportunity to obtain an academic qualification and thus a job. Many young people had missed out on educational opportunities during the horrific and destructive 11 year civil war. The peace that has followed has still not enabled them to access educational opportunities such as college programs because of poverty, massive unemployment and unqualified lecturers. The college offers hope and a chance otherwise denied students who cannot afford to study. Thanks to the generous donors in Greece (who funded the building project) and PK4A in Australia (who supply resources and fund the running costs) there has been a way forward.

Some see it as the only way forward. One student categorically stated to Father Themi that if she was denied the chance to continue her studies (due to unpaid college fees) the only alternative she could foresee for her future, would be suicide! There isn’t a week that goes by that a student doesn’t come to me saying how grateful they are for what the college is providing. They feel that they are studying in an international setting (the physical environment and high quality lecturers) and learning in a more challenging way.

Education Students: The students are working towards their Higher Teaching Certificate (early years), which is a tertiary level of study. They have a heavy workload of 6 subjects this semester. I am teaching Child Development and Personality 1 subject. Many of them are teachers themselves during the day (although not all of them are qualified to teach). Some have their own families and most, travel long distances (in the heat and on the most primitive public transport) just to get to classes every afternoon. They are hot, thirsty and exhausted when they get here but they always have a smile and a warm greeting for us. The college has provided career opportunities that they would never have been able to access. They are for the first time in their lives, exposed to the most current teaching methodologies and research. For example; lectures are delivered as power point presentations, active learning tasks, videos, discussions, tutorials and quality handouts for extended reading.

Information Technology students: The I.T students are mostly a younger cohort of adult learners. They are energetic, keen to be heard and most of them hope to get jobs as IT Technicians when they graduate. I am teaching a Communication subject (Father Themi and I share this subject). Recently, they had to choose a topic of interest and write an essay using a specific persuasive framework discussed in class. I expected them to give me essays on IT subjects such as; network systems, software/hardware, technical support, installation and maintenance etc. I was surprised however, at the diverse topics they chose to write about, for example; football, social justice, corruption, child brides, girl child education, failing morality, government apathy, power supply in Sierra Leone, problems facing youth in society, Aids, teenage pregnancy, and I.T problems in Sub-Sahara Africa. I learned a lot about the people of Sierra Leone from these essays!

Help Needed

It is an exciting time to be teaching at the college and be a small part of this growing institution. Exams are a few weeks away and the students are anxious and hopeful that they will pass their subjects. Many of them however, have the added anxiety of college fees to pay prior to sitting their exams. There are no official college scholarships (as yet). Father Themi does not like to turn away students just because they cannot afford the fees and so we have many students that need financial help. If you would like to pledge a donation to support a student through his/her studies in 2013, know that you are contributing to the future of this country. The college fees by the way, are the cheapest in the country!

The Orthodox Mission in Sierra Leone is one of the youngest Orthodox ecclesiastical communities of worldwide Orthodoxy. We are laying historical roots here and I believe the planting that will bear the most fruit, is with the young ones.

Orthodox Youth Fellowship Update: Firstly, I would like to say a big thank you to the people that responded to my blog and donated last month to the Orthodox Youth Fellowship program. The money is being used to provide one hot meal and bus fares home after the Vesper service every Saturday (at least for the next 6 months). We have set up a class specifically for OYF, which now has some reading books, drawing materials, (budget hasn’t stretched for art and craft supplies yet) writing materials, bibles and some large balls for games. Our next task is to establish connections with some of the parents/guardians. King David Kargbo (who is the Liaison Worker for the Mission) and I will be visiting the homes of our youth members to introduce ourselves and reassure the parents/guardians that their children are in safe hands and explain the Orthodox Fellowship program. Young people (especially girls) are very vulnerable when they walk the streets after dark in Freetown and although we want them to stay on after 4pm for vespers they need to get home before dark. The bus fares will ensure they can do both. Our aim is to build good relationships with parents/ guardians so they continue to entrust us with the spiritual and moral education of their children.

School Fees A big thank you to our donor Mr Andreas from Montreal, Canada who has kindly contributed to the annual secondary school fees for 20 OYF students. The students cannot sit their exams without payment of these fees so we are very appreciative that they too will have the opportunity to further their education in 2013.

Lastly, I would like to add that the Orthodox Youth Fellowship accepts members regardless of their religious affiliation. We have several Muslim members who have decided to pursue an Orthodox path and their parents have allowed them. Criteria for entry into the group for all members is based on their willingness to adhere to Christian values, conduct themselves in a peaceful and harmonious manner and abide by the rules (which the group decided upon). Orthodox catechism, brother/sister friendships, ethics, morals, mentoring and creative outlets are what we are about.

Many thanks to King David who has guided and mentored many of the young ones over the last 3 years: These children are truly a light of hope for the future of Orthodoxy in Sierra Leone.

Watch out for my next blog in May

Blessings Eleni

PK4A – A chance encounter?

I’m an Australian girl with Greek heritage, who, much to my grandmother’s dismay, has moved my life to the small West African country with a colourful history – Sierra Leone. “Come back soon”, my grandmother has begged repeatedly. “If you come home, I will pay for a flight to Greece for you! We will go together!” As tempting as that cheeky bribery sounded, my decision was firmly made. Sierra Leone was where I wanted to base myself at this point in my life. Little did I know that I would soon come into contact with an inspirational man with a very similar family history.

One Friday afternoon, I was spending time in Freetown with a friend. We happened to be in the area where I had heard there was an Orthodox Church.

This idea baffled me! An Orthodox Church in Sierra Leone? I don’t know why I was so surprised, religion is deeply embedded in Sierra Leonean culture and Sierra Leone is an amazing example of religious tolerance, with almost an equal amount of Muslims and Christians of many different denominations living peacefully and respectfully.

Insert, the beautiful Orthodox Church and compound on Syke Street, Freetown. We arrived at the address and I was baffled for the second time that day – the Sierra Leonean man at the gate spoke near perfect Greek! What a delight, being able to hear and speak Greek with this man! I had a good feeling about this place instantly!
 

The mysterious Rev Themi was not around at this time, but the guys urged me to return the next day. It seemed only natural that I would.

The following day, I returned to the Church ready to meet the Father and hear his story. I knew he was also from a Greek background, but that was not where the similarities stopped.

Like my Grandfather, Reverend Themi was born in Alexandria, Egypt (which just happens to be my middle name!), and also like my Grandfather, he immigrated to Australia – the lucky country – in the 1950s. They both based themselves in Melbourne, the city with the biggest population of Greek nationals outside of Greece! The whole story was just too coincidental.

While talking, Reverend Themi said to me “I think I have a job for you”, I was no longer baffled. This whole encounter now felt as if it were meant to be, something was happening, as if God had planned it from the start.

The following week, I met with my soon to be colleagues at the new, very impressive Orthodox College in Freetown. My background as a Dietitian was perfect to fill the role of nutrition lecturer for their Higher Teaching Certificate course in Early Childhood Education.

Was this really a chance encounter?

I don’t think so either…

Katherine Cacavas

To help Katherine help those in need, consider donating via Paypal or with your Credit/Debit Card

 The Life and Death Cycle in West Africa

Since my arrival nearly two months ago, before we were blessed to be connected to the Government House line, the electricity supply to the Mission House and the College had been erratic.

This situation brings about many challenges, impossible to charge phones and computers, no lights, no Power-point presentations, no photocopying, no internet, no fans and so on.

There have been times when I have been in pitch dark and only with the aid of a solar torch, which Fr. Themi hands out to everyone staying at the Mission House, have I been able to go about my business. So when the power goes off during the day Fr. Themi has the generator working only during College hours or if it happens late afternoon he starts the generator at 8.00pm. We have to be very economical with the usage of the generator as it runs on diesel and that is very costly! Unfortunately for this entire month the generator has not been consistent and we had it overhauled which has taken weeks to complete and much, much, money!

Pups foster Dad "Brownie"

A few Sundays ago I was sitting on the verandah in the afternoon, playing with our newly acquired pup ‘Oscar’, when the two men who had been fixing the generator came to see Fr. Themi.

Everyone wants to see Fr. Themi!

One of my tasks here is to be the middle person and find out who and why they want to see the good Father. I asked if I could assist in any way. Their response was that they wanted to see the Father. So I rang Father, he asked me if they had brought with them the detailed invoice for the work on the generator. They had and therefore wanted their payment.

Whilst waiting for Father to come down one of the men casually told me that his sister had passed away. I told him how sad that must be for him and her family and asked how old she was at the time. He replied 65 years old. I then asked him what she died of. He responded that he didn’t know. I asked him if she had been living in the province away from Freetown. In my mind I thought that her death had occurred sometime ago. He then told me that whilst sitting and waiting for Father, he had just received a phone call from one of his brothers who told him their sister had just passed away and that she was in the mortuary.

When Father came down I explained to him what had just happened, Father asked him if he could do anything to help and that he would pray for his sister and the family. After the two men left I asked Father if that was the usual manner in which such news was shared – very casually!

He told me that death here is an everyday occurrence and that death is accepted as a matter of fact. Actually in the mind of her brother she had lived beyond her life expectancy as 41 years old is the average mortality age for women. (Men 39 old years)

Father went on to say that recently a beggar came to see him and that he had told him that he had a dream in which he was told that he would die soon. A woman came to him and told him either in a dream or in reality that he would pass away and be buried. The beggar lived during the day on the side of the front steps of our unfinished Church at Tower Hill with his flimsy possessions.

Daily Fr Themi would look after him with food, clothing and some money, just recently, he, asked Father to bury him because he knew he was going to die soon.

Father explained to me that there are two sorts of funerals, one for the poor called a paupers’ funeral and one for those who can afford it. The poor are buried in a common grave, no casket and no memorial service. This beggar realised that Father would give him the dignity of a proper burial.

Needless to say that he passed away and Father performed the Funeral Service. His name is Alie Mansaray and he was 52 years old. He was a polio victim and was in a wheelchair.

For days before the funeral his family and friends would visit the Mission House to ask for money for the grave site, the coffin, death certificate, embalming and mortuary costs. We even had to find clothes in order to bury him in a dignified manner.

It is such a sad situation and there are so many of these stories that should be shared!

The following day as I was leaving the College after my lecture, one of our drivers was sitting outside the compound. He called to me and told me that his eldest daughter had just passed away. Again when I asked when and how, his answer was that she had been sick and that she was in the mortuary that very day. She leaves behind three children all below the age of ten. Now he becomes the carer, the family are surviving on his salary as one of the Mission’s driver.

All these tragedies in one weekend! Life is a struggle and these stories are everywhere here. Life, death and births are occurrences that are accepted as daily events without exaggeration, just part of the life and death survival cycle in this part of West Africa!

You see, 90% of Sierra Leoneans were affected by the war. Once the rebels entered a city or village every family had a tragedy touch them. Fathers and mothers were killed or tortured in front of the children. Brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles and cousins were either burnt alive or arms and legs chopped off, machetes used to carve signs on people’s bodies and all the while children and other family members were made to watch. Homes, centres, schools, hospitals were all burnt down in the villages. Bodies were strewn everywhere in the streets in the capital city and in the villages. These were everyday sights and after a while a dead body was just a dead body except for the ravenous dogs and the birds!

These young children are now the young adults we are educating in the College. These are the orphans who are trying to get on with life the best possible way which is through education. They all must have emotional scars but do not show them. Some cannot afford the low fees and struggle to pay in instalments , come up with part of the fees, or whatever they can give to stay in the College. They know this is their only chance to become independent and join the workforce in order to make a better life for themselves and their family.

The Orthodox Mission in Sierra Leone is making such a difference to people’s lives and being a very small part of it makes me realise how much we have back home, how much we take for granted and how little we trust in God.

My challenge is to listen and help without becoming emotionally involved. Something I need to learn if I am to become effective in this daily struggle. So I pray to God to give me the strength and grace to do His works as He would want them done.

Mary Adams 17/3/2013

If you would like to help Mary Adams with the challenges she faces every day, please donate by Paypal with your Credit/Debit Card or Paypal account.

Hello Rev Themi & friends & supporters.

I wanted to wait a month or so before I put up my first blog. Mainly because I didn’t want to make the same false assumptions and western expectations that I did when I was here 2.5 years ago.

It is easy to be shocked, to be overwhelmed, to feel sad, to judge, to expect, to be critical and to be helpful…all in the same day! Sierra Leone is such a paradox and like the country .…I too am a work in progress.

At the moment (under the advice of Father Themi) I am working on my Patience. This virtue I believe brings forth; acceptance, understanding, respect, endurance, persistence and most importantly Love. I am finding that the more patient I become, the more loving I become and the more productive I feel I can be here.

In this blog, I want to share some news about the Orthodox Youth Fellowship. This group meets every Saturday for catechism.

The group was first known as “Paradise Kids 4 Sierra Leone Youth”, but in November 2013, their benefactor Mr Louis Toumbas , changed the groups name to “Orthodox Youth Fellowship, Freetown.”

And now have decided to expand the program to incorporate a range of activities (similar to what any youth ministry leader would conduct in the West). Needless to say the youth are delighted and eagerly participate. There are some obvious talents already in this group. Dancers, singers, writers, artists, chanters, and soon to be revealed ….actors as well as youth leaders.

The future of Sierra Leone will rest in the hands of these young people. It is crucial that we harness their God given gifts and talents so they can use them in the future to develop the Orthodox faith in this country and to fulfil their own dreams and goals. It has been an honour to work here this past month and as we continue to meet every week, we are learning from, and about, each other in order to improve social, moral, spiritual, cognitive and creative skills, values and attitudes.

The group is made up of 32 young people aged 14 years to 18 years of age. There is a balance of boys and girls. Some of them attend school early Saturday morning and then stay on for youth fellowship.

Others wake up early and work selling fish for their parents, peddling goods or cleaning and doing chores. From 1pm until 4pm the youth group meets. We have no lighting, no fans, no fancy hall, no kitchen or stage. Just a concrete floor, some desks, a black board, and a second hand lounge (which we scored this weekend). At 4pm Father Themi comes and there is a vesper service in the church. Most of the young people by this stage have not had anything to eat or drink for the day. If they stay on for vespers (which many do) they have the long walk home in the evening.

Just as an aside, the young people that come to the fellowship are not sent by their parents to be entertained (as we would do for our kids when we want them to be entertained or to mingle with other Greek kids). The youth here make a big sacrifice to come. One boy came to me only yesterday and said “Miss Eleni I am sad I cannot come to fellowship today because my mother needs me to sell fish all day…I will try to sell it all quickly so I can come back”. (He never made it back). Another girl had been sick and collapsed at school with suspected anaemia. She insisted that she come to youth fellowship instead of home, declaring to her friends that she feels better when she is amongst us (she does not live with her parents).

There are so many stories I could tell you but suffice to say that what you do, what you give, is greatly needed and appreciated by these young people. As an old time advocate for children however, I cannot end this blog without asking for your help. Whether it is a fellowship group in Australia or Greece or USA that would like to sponsor this group, an individual who would like to pledge a cash donation or a fund raising activity…..We need to find a way to provide one good nutritional meal on Saturday for them. We have found a lady that can cook this meal and it will come to around $20 to feed up to 40. Another $5 would mean we can give those that travel far to get here, some public transport money so they do not walk home after vespers; (if you can help please use Paypal by clicking this link). 

Thanks to their  kind benefactor  every youth member now has a bible of their own (they were so excited to write their own names in them). Other resources that would help run our program include more paper and stationary and some paints, and craft items. We can purchase them here if we had the money.

Next blog…I will write about my lecturing and wonderful Education and I.T students at the college!

Blessings and many thanks for your prayers, donations and support.

Eleni from Freetown (Brisbane, Australia)