A year ago, trainers Swati Bhatt and Agyat Mitra couldn't have imagined bringing Play for Peace to Greece. But after nearly seven months of work, the impact of PFP games is incredible. Swati and Agyat first traveled to Athens in February 2017 to share PFP games in the Skaramangas refugee camp. Simultaneously, PFP Certified Trainers Ajat Shatru and Abha Jeurkar conducted a workshop for school teachers in the Oinofyta refugee camp. Volunteers from an organization called I Am You attended the workshop, and the idea to invite Swati and Agyat to train volunteers in Oinofyta was born. Swati and Agyat made a two-day visit to the camp, where they shared the Play for Peace mission and trained volunteers.
Overall, they had 17 volunteers who attended the workshops. Since it was held over a holiday, the children did not have structured time and a summer camp began in the place where were gathering together. It became a challenging time for Swati and Agyat to conduct training, since children were all over the place and training people in refugee camps requires giving attention to everyone. Though the workshop only lasted for two days, and there were a lot of things to cover, Swati and Agyat wondered if anyone had gotten anything out of the training. The feedback was overwhelming - participants appreciated the real value that Play for Peace brings to youth, children, and organizations in the refugee camps. Virginie Chauzeix, Child Protection Project Manager for ‘I am You’, said that volunteers enjoyed training and that they use their games every day in the summer camp. Since the team will change soon, one of the volunteers who is staying will teach the new volunteers some of the games so the camp does not lose them. Volunteers are also sharing their impressions by explaining that they remember games by heart which helps them to maintain structure in camp. They add that children are participating more and more, and even some older ones are joining. The honest emotion of one of the volunteers speaks much more than we can convey:
Our training with you was the highlight of our week. Thank you for everything you shared with us. We are changed because of it!
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