Since the European refugee crisis began, many millions of people have been forced to flee to the European Union by land or sea. For a vast majority of these people, their struggle isn't over, the challenges they face continue in new ways.

Children are growing up without access to education or real homes. Support from NGOs and government bodies is proving insufficient. A lack of support and funding, teamed with unhurried bureaucracy, means lives are put on hold.

---

The specific organisation we have chosen is Khora, a community centre in Athens. Khora is a small, proactive association, made up of volunteers from all over the world. Its team includes members of the local Greek community, the refugee community and other international volunteers too.

The fact that Khora is a grassroots operation means that all the money goes directly to supporting the people who are most in need. Refugees also play a large part in the running of the organisation, ensuring that the services provided are flexible to fit the needs of the community. 

​​Khora is an 8-floor community centre in Athens. We've created a breakdown of what each floor provides below:

The Roof:
​Urban gardening

Floor 4: Library
The library provides a space for study or quiet.

Women’s Space
Gives women a place to chat, make handcrafts or watch movies. A space free of taboo. 

Legal Rooms
Providing legal information and advice, RLS offer 20+ appointments per week.

The Van:
Supplies hundreds of kilos of food and clothes each week.

Ground Floor: Active Room
A space used for a range of workshops, events, yoga classes and meetings. 

Legal Assessment Room
Seeing up to 20 people per day, offering advice and helping them navigate bureaucratic systems.

Info Centre
Welcoming 600-800 visitors each day. Distributing information in cooperation with the Aegean Solidarity Network, and otherwise providing a friendly face.

Floor 5: Music School
Creating, sharing and learning together in a community of newcomers and locals alike. 

Floor 3: Language Centre
Khora offers more than 20 language classes to over 400 students every day in English, German, Greek and French.

Floors 1-2: The Kitchen & Cafe
Serving up to 600 people a day, six days a week. Nutritious and delicious food is served in a dignified way. No distribution queues. No one should leave hungry. The kitchen and cafe is staffed entirely with volunteers. The majority of them from the refugee community.

Floor -1: The Family Space
A place for families to spend quality time together. It  has baby changing area and provides nappies, a much needed and scarce commodity in Athens. It also houses activities such as skateboarding, yoga and music.

​Mahmoud, who volunteered with Khora for a year states:
​
"The world was watching us when the borders closed, we had no food and we slept in the street. Khora was warm when the world was cold. It gave us dignity and empowerment, as well as the basic things we needed."

​The money we raise is used to fund the running costs of the building. Keeping Khora a consistent feature in an otherwise ever-changing landscape. 

​​So far, we have managed to pay Khora's rent, bills and maintenance for the past two years. We want to keep this funding going and raise enough for another year's costs.

​All of the money we raise goes directly to Khora.

​None of it is used to fund the cycle.

DONATE NOW