Children sponsorship update from Vari
21/12/2007
An update from the SOS Children's Village Vari from December 2006 for the months June to December.
Dear Friends:
We are at the end of another year and we have much to tell you about the months that have passed since June until today, therefore :
July: The school year ended satisfactorily and vacation began. Programs, preparations for camp and outings, shopping.
George and John went to EK.P.A.Z. (Greek Wildlife Shelter) in Aigina again and were truly very happy. The stayed there many days doing volunteer work at the Shelter, they saw their old acquaintances from previous visit and enriched their experiences.
Almost all of the older children went to camp, swam, played, learned and took part in different activities.
On the 15th of the month a group of children together with the Director and councelor saw a performance of Thesmoforiazouses at Epidauro.
August: August is filled with camping, relaxation and walks.
On the 3rd of the month we made an interesting visit to the refugee camp at Lavrion.
Our children played with the children at the camp, offered and received small gifts, enjoyed themselves and thought they also gave enjoyment.
September: School began again marking the end of the carefree summer. Studying began again and the attempt to advance into the new school year successfully.
On the 4th of the month,our very small children, under the kind care of the Commander of the National Congress of Defense and his coworkers, had a weeks vacation with the Mothers of the SOS Village at the summer resort of the Air Force at Saint Andrea.
On the 24th of the month, a large group of children together with Mothers of the SOS Village, enjoyed themselves at the Allou Fun Park at the invitation of Vodaphone.
Another group of children enjoyed a performance of the Bolsoi Ballet at Herodion Theater.
October: The most important event during this month was the arrival of little Vivi at the Village. She is a brilliant and cute little girl with huge sad eyes. She became a member of the ‘Welcome House’. She seems to feel at home and enjoys the company of the children of her age.
During October the workshops: Computer, Music, Handicrafts, Theater and English re-opened continuing their activities, from the previous year. Children from the community of Vari take part in the first four of the workshops listed.
On the 20th of the month a large group of employees of the mobile phone company Motorola, voluntarily, planted trees in the Village with the children.
On the 29th children upto the age of 12 with their Mothers attended a perfomance of Peter Pan at the Theater at the invitation of the Pharmaceutical Company GlaxoSmithKline.
November: On 12/11/ a group of our children attended the Awards Ceremony of the international competition Dimitri Mitropoulos at the Athens Concert Hall.
Holidays are approaching and slowly preparations begin, in spite of the fact that the children’s hollidays will be limited because they must make up for the valuable time lost during teacher’s strike.
December: It’s now December and what shall we begin to tell you.
On the 2nd of the month a large group of our children will take part in a holiday celebration to be held in Kotzia Square to mark the three years since the opening of the Notos Galleries Home Stores.
At the invitation of Cafe Marinopoulos Company, all of our children with the exception of the older teenagers will attend a perfomance of “The Mystery of the Country of the sea” at the Peroke Theater.
During these days we will welcome a new little girl. She will be our youngest child, slightly younger than two years old.
On 20/12 students of Cooking and Bakery together with their Chefs will cook in our houses and as every year we will taste all the delicacies in Zachariadi Hall to the accompaniment of music and dancing.
On the 23rd our youngest children are invited to the Christmas Celebration at the Military Academy.
Sponsor update letter from Plagiari
Sponsor's update letter from Summer 2007
Dear Sponsor,
Another school year has come to the end and all the children from SOS Children’s Village in Plagiari are looking forward to having summer vacations and to prepare for their holiday activities.
With this letter, we would like to thank you for your support and for your kind help that you offer to the SOS Children’s Village. Also, we would like to inform you about the latest news of Village.
On New Year’s Eve all the children with their Mothers SOS and with the director of SOS Children’s Village in Plagiari welcomed the New Year in the room of events like every year.
On January 5, the commercial shopping center “Mediterranean Cosmos” which is in the wider area of Thessaloniki organized a Christmas celebration for our children.
The younger children had the opportunity to watch two theatrical children’s performances, in January. The performance “Fairy tales in Mixer” gained the impressions, while in the theatrical scene of Government owned Theater of North Greece was presented a known fairy tale “Beauty and the Beast”.
A concert was took place in January with the famous Greek artist Sakis Rouvas. The oldest girls and the boys of the village went to enjoy this concert closely. They sang and danced with the famous songs of the known artist and expressed their enthusiasm in his person.
During the Carnival Festival, the children of SOS Children’s Village in Plagiari participated in carnival events. The Primary school and the Kindergarten school of Plagiari, where the younger students of the village attend, organized a fancy dress dance in a well known musical hall of the area.
The Union of the Police Employees of North Greece, in collaboration with the International Union of the Police Officers Greece invited us to the Masquerade dance. The atmosphere in the music hall was extremely enjoyable.
On Sunday 18 February, the feast of carnivals came to the end with the established carnival parade that the Municipality of Mikra organizes every year.
On “Clean Monday” all the families from SOS Children’s Village in Plagiari passed their day in the country. The sunny weather encouraged us for games and relaxation.
On March 22, we celebrate the World Day of Water. Because of this event the management staff of the Company of Water Supply and Sewerage of Thessaloniki, in collaboration with the Children’s Museum of Thessaloniki informed the children about the right use of the most precious good.
The Saint Days of Easter passed with religious piety and humility. The Day of Resurrection was celebrated with particular happiness and the residents of our small Village had lunch all together at the square of SOS Children’s Village in Plagiari.
On April 21, we worked for a formal ceremony to honour the Prefect of Thessaloniki, for his important offer to the charitable work that is carried out to the SOS Children’s Village. The team of our musicians showed their talent, in front of all guests and the team of figurative of SOS Children’s Village in Plagiari made a gift for Mister Prefect.
With joy we welcomed members from the Greek football team of PAOK in our small village. All the boys were excited from their presence; they played together and received commemorative gifts and autographs.
On May Day, all Families SOS, with the educators and with the escort of the Director went on an excursion to Ouranoupoli of Chalkidiki and they enjoyed a splendid cruise that included their conducted tour in Mouth Athos. The children as well as all the rest of the company passed pleasant moments and were impressed from the natural beauties of place.
On June 14, we celebrated the end of the school year with happenings and surprises for the children and for all the guests. The event took place at «Ôhe Irene’s Village», where is a few kilometers outside of Thessaloniki and very close to the SOS Children’s Village in Plagiari. The children presented their annual work from their participation at the music education, at the learning of English language, at the figurative activity and at the computer programs which were realised in the place of the SOS Children’s Village in Plagiari.
We wish you happy and restful summer holidays!
Yours Sincerely
Georgios Basdaris
Village Director
Relevant Countries: Greece.