Voluntary activity to provide food and keep company to people in street situation.
by the group PAREA
#solidarity
#volunteering
#social integration
As more and larger portions of the Athens’ population live below the poverty line, the problem of starvation is emerging as a key priority for citizens groups that develop solidarity activities. Concerned with the dignity of these people, informal solidarity group PAREA prepares and provides meals to people who are deprived through participatory and voluntary actions.
Ranking among the most impactful activities of PAREA, “A Walk to Share Food in Athens” was a series of weekly activities centered around the kiosk of synAthina. The activity included preparing free rations and their distribution to people living in the streets of surrounding area. Participants in the activity took the time to talk to each recipient of food, while the roof of synAthina was open to anyone who wished to discuss his/her worries. The activity recorded an average of 200 beneficiaries each week.
The collaboration of the PAREA with the organization “Médecins du Monde Greece” has led to a coordinated and effective relief in the field, where the municipal and state services don’t usually reach. The contribution of supporters who provided the necessary materials for cooking has been critical to the needs of the activity, while the use of volunteers wishing to offer their time has contributed to a more personal and human way to approach beneficiaries.
The activity inspired other people to engage in it. A characteristic example is a 55 year old beneficiary who used lived in the streets for over two years. When he finally managed to secure accommodation for himself, he began to participate in the activity because he felt that he had availed himself of such initiatives. He expressed his gratitude to the group and said that his participation had been a positive form of mobilization for him.