By Gabriella Dixon | Co-Founder
Dear Friends,
As we reach the end of the year, we want to take a moment to thank you for your continued support. Everything that happens at ECHO HUB — every class, every shared cup of tea, every certificate earned — is made possible because of you. Your generosity keeps our doors open and our community thriving.
Over the past few months, our classrooms have been full and lively. We are currently running ten English and nine Greek classes, including new beginner groups that started this term. Each class has around eleven students, and altogether about 250 people are taking part in our education programmes. From September to November alone, we held 481 classes — a true reflection of the enthusiasm of our students and the dedication of our teachers.
Our English Conversation Club meets four times a week, and this autumn we also restarted our Greek Conversation Club, which meets once a week. These clubs give learners a chance to practice speaking and connect in a relaxed environment. In December, the library became even more welcoming as students decorated a Christmas tree and made ornaments together, filling the space with laughter and warmth.
We were very proud to celebrate 21 Greek students who passed the official Ellinomatheia exams, and three more sat the exams in October. English students are now preparing for their Speaking Board exams. Because our language classes are full, our Greek teachers also created an online space with resources — including videos, podcasts, and film recommendations — for those who wish to study on their own.
Our beginner computer classes are going very well, guided by Marsil, our multilingual instructor who supports students individually in English, Greek, and Arabic. We continue to lend laptops so that learners can study from home. Our partner organisation, Intechgration, also launched another round of its Front-End Web Development course, which is now fully online and running over nine months to help students gain valuable digital skills for employment. The Care & Support Training course, attended by twelve students, is nearly finished with its theoretical phase and will begin practical training in the new year.
Our integration team has also been very active. In October alone, they supported 61 people through 170 interventions — from help with social benefits and CV drafting to document assistance and job counselling. Since July, 40 people have found employment and 43 have been supported in obtaining essential documents. Monthly CV and job-search workshops began in October, and the team has been collaborating with our education staff to offer interview preparation sessions within language classes. A lawyer has recently joined the team, strengthening our ability to help with legal and documentation matters, and several volunteers have offered their time to assist with reception and community activities.
Beyond the classroom, our community has shared some special moments together. In October, a group of 30 members visited the Art Explora Festival in Piraeus, enjoying a day of art, a VR boat experience, and good company. In November, together with our friends at ANKAA Project, we hosted a screening of “The Promise of the Future,” a moving documentary about refugees rebuilding their lives in Paris. Later that month, some of our team attended the Sociology of Migration Conference at the University of Athens, where we gained new perspectives on migration and labour-market dynamics that will inform our work going forward.
These months have been full of activity, connection, and progress. Thanks to your support, ECHO HUB continues to be a welcoming place where people come to learn, share, and build new opportunities for themselves and their families. We are so grateful to have you with us on this journey, and we look forward to continuing this work together in the year ahead.
Please also check out our student's testimonials in the link below.
With heartfelt thanks and warm wishes,
Gabi, Catharina and Belli
The ECHO HUB Team
Links:
By Gabriella Dixon | Co-Founder
By Gabriella Dixon | CO-Founder
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