12 FAWCO Youth Cultural Volunteers hosted in Athens by AWO Greece

By Stacey Harris-Papaioannou

Teens from 14 to 17 years old came to Athens from October 16th to 23rd to get a taste of Greek culture and volunteering through the American Women's Organization of Greece (AWOG). The teens were hosted by local FAWCO Chair Georgia Kallis, AWOG Treasurer Stacey Harris-Papaioannou, and Danielle Termote, a Cultural Volunteer Alumna and volunteer from AWC Amsterdam, staying in an AirBnB down the street from Stacey.

The students hailed from 10 FAWCO clubs and live in England, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and France. The youth put in hours at a Caritas soup kitchen serving meals and sorting clothing, helping with AWOG’s heart pillow stuffing, visiting the Sea Turtle rescue center in Glyfada and getting a hands-on experience at Pame Mmazi, the art therapy program for cancer patients at Agoi Anargyri Hospital in Kifissia. The group also visited Merimna center for unaccompanied refugee boys in Exharxia and had the opportunity to interact with some of the 29 boys, ages 12 to 17, currently housed there. 

They visited the Acropolis, Sounion, Lake Vouliagmeni, the Niarchou Center, Monastiraki and Syntagma — the A list of attractions for Athens. You can watch a highlight video, produced by the youths themselves on the In Their Own Words page. The participants reflection essays are also shared there. (you must be logged in).