In: Volos Greece
Role: Refugee Education Coordinator
Age: 41 years old
Education level: post-graduate
Evi's story: Evi works in the Refugee Accommodation Centers in Volos, Greece, helping 40 households of Syrian and Iraqi refugees. She works alongside governmental and non governmental organisations, such as psychologists and social workers, doctors, nurses and teachers. Evi's role is as an experienced educator, whose responsibility is to coordinate, supervise and ensure the provision of education to refugee children. She is a sort of intermediary, bringing the refugee families closer to the Greek education system, and creating bridges between the school and society. She helps inform parents about the benefits of education via regular meetings, creates parents' associations, and arrange visits to meet the teachers and see the schools. In reverse, she organises visits of the teachers to the Refugee centers. She discusses almost daily with the teachers of the children to learn what happened at the school, and what difficulties they encountered.
In Evi's opinion, the main barrier is that many of the refugee families do not think that attending a Greek school and learning the Greek language helps them in their desire to relocate to another country. Their sense of being only temporarily in Greece prevents them from adapting to a daily school routine, and the ignorance of the Greek language and subsequent problems of communication means that many of the children prefer to stay at home.
Follow Evi's journey as part of our #EducationOntheMove campaign.