ECHO HUB Athens: Prepare Refugees for Integration

Dear Friends!

We are so happy to report that the HUB is thriving. Since our last report in January, we have made enormous progress. Our services are delivered by a highly experienced team of teachers, social workers, lawyers, and volunteers who support 250-plus displaced individuals at the HUB.

We operate on three fundamental pillars: education, integration, and vocational training. Our core services encompass high-quality language instruction in both Greek and English, essential computer literacy skills, and vocational training in key areas such as Senior Care Giving, Coding/Programming, and Teacher Training. Additionally, we provide a comprehensive referral system for additional support as needed for other organizations. Our Social Integration Team is dedicated to fostering holistic integration by offering a wide array of essential services. These include facilitating access to education and healthcare, assisting with higher education applications and scholarships, providing employability support, offering career counseling and job placement services, aiding in the acquisition of Greek documentation, facilitating legal assistance, and providing various other integration services aimed at empowering individuals on their journey toward full integration and independence.

Education services

Proficiency in the Greek language is crucial for our target group to integrate effectively into Greek society. It enables them to communicate with locals, access essential services, and engage in community activities, fostering social cohesion and mutual understanding. Competency in both Greek and English significantly increases refugees' employability in Greece. While Greek is essential for communication in most workplaces, English proficiency opens up additional job opportunities, especially in sectors such as tourism, hospitality, and international organizations. Our goal is to keep providing high-quality Greek and English language classes to our target group and have the maximum of exams possible.

Greek language students: 90 - 120 persons, high-level certificates: 20

English language students: 150-170 persons, high-level certificates: 50

Computer literacy classes: 20 students

Vocational Training

Senior Care Giving Training:  run 3 training courses with a maximum of 20 candidates each. Our goal is to train 60 candidates from our target group to become certified ‘Senior Care Givers’. Course details: A three-month course consists of 100 hours of theoretical and 40 hours of practical training in a local hospital; run by Michaela, an experienced nurse, and trainer from the ‘Malteser Hilfsdienst- Germany’; the aim is to fast-track Senior Care Givers into an underserved health care sector.

60 candidates become certified Senior Caregivers

IT-Bootcamp: Computing, Software Engineering, and Web Development: We host the INTECHgration bootcamp https://intechgration.io/ at our premises: The goal is to provide free and open source education to underprivileged individuals and marginalized groups: The WDX 180° is a 9-month intensive course designed to teach software engineering and web development, all the way through, from the basics of computing and the World Wide Web to mastering Frontend technologies such as ReactJS and NextJS. The goal is to provide highly marketable and industry-relevant skills to our graduates and ensure rapid career entry to high-demand jobs, such as Frontend engineers and web developers.

8 to 10 participants complete the Bootcamp.

TEFL Teacher Training provided by we/educate (www.we-educate.eu) in our premises: The goal is to provide a certified training program for teacher trainees of diverse mother tongues to teach English. The three-month-long course includes sessions on leadership, classroom management, and teaching techniques as well as live teaching practice, group discussions, and regular 1:1 feedback meetings. With our TEFL teacher training for mother-tongue teachers, we want to offer a certified program that fosters community-led teaching and establishes a teaching team that is reflective of the students they are teaching. Offering a training program that is focused on TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) is not only providing the opportunity to establish language training within the communities of our mother-tongue teachers but also gaining professional experience for further employment opportunities.

6 to 8 candidates receive the TEFL certification.

Integration services

The integration Unit offers individualized support in four major areas:

Administrative support of beneficiaries for the issuance of necessary documents, i.e. Social Security, Tax Registry numbers, doctors’ appointments, issuance of work-related documents, etc.

Legal advice on the asylum process, renewal or legal documents, integration issues

Employability support, i.e. drafting CVs, job search/matching, interview preparation)

Education and training, i.e. enrollment to all levels of the education system, referrals for Greek and English language courses, IT skills development, vocational training programs, etc.

300 people receive assistance relevant to their request/s which vary; Job offers: 50- 80.

Without your ongoing support, none of this would be possible!

Thank you for your generosity, and thank you to the GG Team!

In solidarity

Gabi, Catharina, Gabriella and all ECHOs

Dear Friends 

2023 was a great year for ECHO100Plus! Since our last report in September,  we introduced more integration opportunities to support the refugee and migrant communities in Athens. We implemented new programs, hired additional staff, and registered more students.

The popularity and demand for our Greek and English classes remain unchanged, resulting in fully booked classes and more and more students reaching C-level examinations! Our computer literacy classes were also completed successfully at both beginner and intermediate levels. Our bi-weekly English and Greek conversation classes were well attended and allowed our students to practice their language skills while also socializing and sharing their experiences. We are very excited about our second vocational training in Senior Care Giving, which is well underway. Michaela from the Malteser Hilfsdienst trained 12 candidates over the last 3 months, completing all theoretical work. 40 hours of hospital training and an 8-hour First Aid Course will be completed at the start of 2024. Equally exciting; our former student Abed finished another Coding/Programming boot camp with 8 candidates. To host these vocational training workshops comfortably, we expanded the HUB by renting an additional space opposite. Renovations are underway to make the second HUB fully wheelchair accessible to accommodate students with disabilities as well.  Our German teacher Sophie’s WeEducate project is thriving, equipping more students with the skills and certification to teach English in a variety of mother tongues. 

Our Social Integration Team has done incredible work supporting our students and other vulnerable communities with navigating the Greek bureaucratic system including access to healthcare, schooling, higher education, employability support, and job placement. We have intensified referrals to the Social Integration Team to offer holistic and personalized support in employability and higher education for our HUB students. Throughout the year, we hosted workshops regularly on requirements regarding employability, labor rights, bureaucratic hurdles, finding accommodation, etc.

Our field trips and cultural outings were highlights throughout the year. Not only did these facilitate a greater understanding of the environment, but also fostered a sense of belonging, identity, and acceptance in Athens.

We ended the Year with a very successful fundraiser on Giving Tuesday where we managed to raise enough funds to finance a third Senior Caregiving Training Course this spring! We want to thank everyone who contributed to our cause. First and foremost, a big thank you to the ECHO team: our amazing staff and our wonderful volunteers and interns who tirelessly dedicate their time and energy to our mission. Second, thank you to everyone who donated and helped make our work possible. Last but not least, thank you to GlobalGiving for creating such a unique platform and supporting our work. Without all of you, we would not be able to offer this variety of services and education. Your contributions make it all possible so from all of us at ECHO, THANK YOU!

Gabi, Catharina and Gabriella

Founders