ACS and HOME Project celebrate World Refugee Day with Youth to Youth program
The American Community Schools (ACS) of Athens and the non-profit organization HOME Project will celebrate World Refugee Day on June 20 with the completion of the 2021-2022 Youth to Youth Educational and Social Integration program, its sixth year of operation.
“In the six years that the program has been running, it has touched the lives of hundreds of refugee minors, educators, facilitators, students, and volunteers,” stated the release of the program, adding that it “has created a space of interaction where Greek youth have the opportunity to socialize with the refugee children as a way to fight xenophobia, break stereotypes and bring communities closer.”
The Youth to Youth project is an educational experience for unaccompanied refugee minors, that champions social inclusion through student-to-student learning. The children are taught by members of the ACS teaching faculty, with courses including English, Greece, computer literacy, music, art, and athletics. Since 2018, it offers 43 full-time scholarships.
“During their classes, the children of The HOME Project bond with the ACS Athens students, creating together a uniquely caring learning community at the school campus giving them a sense of belonging – and most importantly, the opportunity to take their lives into their own hands,” states the ACS website.
This year saw the participation of 63 refugee students, 54 ACS volunteer students, and 19 ACS faculty members and staff. Four of the full-time Youth to Youth students graduating this year have received full scholarships to American educational institutions.
The HOME Project is a non-profit organization that cares for unaccompanied refugee children.
Find out more about the Youth to Youth Project at ACS Athens here or at The HOME Project here.
