Community spaces are important for numerous reasons – they provide a sense of belonging, social support, physical health, diversity and inclusion and a recreational space to play, meet and socialise with others. So what makes the community spaces in Glocal Roots so special?

This month, we spoke to a variety of people supported by our projects in Kos and Athens to find out what our centres mean to them. One man supported by our Hub on Kos expressed his love for the centre:

“I love coming to the centre because I feel really comfortable and safe. I love … to work in the spirit of one team, and you and I are the same thing, there is no distinction between us. ”

Our Hub in Kos welcomes 1800 people every month, and the positivity this space has for our community is palpable. Our space provides people with an environment of comfort and safety, which is especially important to people who may have no other place to feel this way. The Hub provides opportunities to connect with others and feel a sense of belonging, where, like this man says:

“there is no distinction between those who work with us and those who visit us.”

Our Community Space in Athens specifically supports women and children. Recently, we spoke to one of the young women, originally from Afghanistan, who has been coming to the centre for the last couple of weeks with her mother and two younger sisters. She told us how she would like to go to Germany,

“I really want to go there, my friends are going now”.

This young woman is around 17, her family extends to another 3 brothers and her father – all of them hoping to move on from Greece. Since her sisters first came to the cafe in the basement and up to the women’s and kid’s space – their confidence has skyrocketed. Zyra and Sara, often mistook for twins, came to the centre very shy to get stuck in with playing with the toys and socialising with other children, and now they have proudly shown us their freshly painted nails from our Beauty Day, a new necklace they made at our weekly jewellery workshops, and love looking after Joram, one of our regular youngsters in the kid’s space.

For her family, the Victoria Community Centre and our space at Glocal Roots has given them a temporary ‘home’, somewhere to feel safe and supported with the freedom to express their needs and wants, even if it is just a listening ear and a friendly face from one of our volunteers to relieve the heartache of being left behind.

At the Hub, many of our visitors who come from the camp require more material support, 

“When you come from the camp, you don’t have many things. No money, no clothes, no nothing. And you can take it from the centre.” 

The different levels of our work at the Hub, from all levels – the pastoral and also the more practical, creates an enormous value for the refugee community here.

It is also important for us to create a space to socialise and spend time with friends as a home away from home. When asked why he comes to the centre, one man answered, 

“To meet new people, to have a good time, to help other people”. 

The Hub as well as our project in Athens provides so many opportunities for people who visit us. Whether it’s taking language or yoga lessons, these community spaces provide a sense of purpose and normality, a place of stability in times of uncertainty. 

For the women who visit our project in Athens, this environment of comfort and safety is particularly important. Women can gather together, share a cup of tea, and engage in some of our activities – a particular favourite is our beauty days where the women can do a facemask, paint each other’s nails and get a hand massage from one of our volunteers. One woman says: 

“At the moment we are all waiting for our ID and we don’t have anything to do. This space is really nice because we are just with women and we can do something, sew or make jewellery and our children can play at the same time.” 

Sharing stories and having a good chat over a cup of tea is something women have done since the beginning of time. However, a space in which to do this is often not available when you are constantly on the move, always worrying about your children, and forever thinking of what will be next. A community space that can bring some stress relief to people on the move allows our visitors to take a breath in a situation many of us will never be able to imagine.

As the refugee crises across the globe continue to worsen, it is important now more than ever to keep these community spaces open to welcome anyone who walks through their doors.