As those of you who have read these posts before will know our club is 25 years old this year. We have charities we support each year – Friends Hospice and the Margarita Lasidou Centre will benefit from our fabulous Rock Concert (more of that later) but we are always interested in other local projects where we can help.
Earlier this month some of our members visited the Learning Refuge in Ktima, Paphos. Housed in an unprepossessing bungalow it provides help for immigrant and asylum seeking families – Syrian, African, Ukrainian – but also general support which has been accessed by British and Cypriots among others. The Centre provides a wide range of activities – homework and language classes for children, craft activities for women, jewellery maki9ng and sewing. Additionally, the Centre gathers and distributes essential supplies, such as clothes, baby milk, bedding and kitchen equipment.
The Centre is run by Mary Chojnowski, in my view a hero for our times, who devotes most of her week to running and developing the Centre. Since 2015 she has worked tirelessly to make sure the needs of vulnerable people can be met. She has overseen the move from a small apartment to the current premises that can cater for all the activities offered. Now she is working to create a Community garden, improving the facilities and raising funds. Thanks to her efforts well over a hundred people are helped every week.
You may be wondering how Rotary is involved. We are looking at helping create the Community Garden, with members bending their backs to help in a practical way. But if you would like to help the Centre by offering clothes, unwanted household items (or your time or money) you can contact Mary at [email protected] and you can see more about the Centre on Facebook – search for Learning Refuge Paphos.
And finally to the picture – a good news story. Joseph, a Syrian refugee who has to use a mobility scooter to get around couldn’t get the scooter in or out of his house because of steps. His mother had to carry him and the scooter in and out which resulted in her hurting herself. Thanks to the Centre and the Rotary Club members working together Joseph now has a ramp to get in and out and his mother’s back is safe (see picture above). Thanks, too, to Azzaf Akhal of Trimisthousa who made the ramp without charge.. Proof, if proof were needed, that good people working together can achieve great things.
