February 2016 – Mission completed
As of January 2016
Work on the roofing of the children’s toilets has begun.
Yesterday I was called to elementary school. Our project for the children’s toilets is moving forward! The principal of the elementary school in Christos-Raches Polixeni Papamihail excitedly asked me to take photos for our donors. After all, a good year has passed since the door was broken through. Read my report on it.
As of December 2014
The lower school principal Polixeni Papamihail wrote to us on November 18, 2014:
Ms. Kastanias
We would like to inform you that, as you already know, the work on the new exit from our school building has been completed and the door has been handed over to our students and teachers for use.
With this letter we are giving you the transfer receipt for €1,392 from your donation to the craftsman Mr. Manoli Niko, who made and installed the door.
The remaining money from your donation will remain in our account for the creation of a protective roof as soon as the necessary assessments and approvals from the official authority of the municipality of Raches have been received.
We ask you to convey our personal, heartfelt thanks to our sponsors and friends, but also the thanks of the entire school community for your support.
Signature: The school principal Polixeni Papamihail
As of November 2014
Amount donated: €3000
A very big thank you to all donors!
How happy I am to finally be able to present you the brand new door! But the children are the most happy because it’s gotten pretty cold and rainy… But now the building is sealed again and the walk to the toilet has been shortened to a minimum.
“The finer work is still to come and then the protective roof will be tackled,” said school principal Polyxeni Papamihail. She has lots of plans. We appreciate your initiative and patience in dealing with the authorities!
As of October 2014
Construction work on the primary school has finally begun! The before and after photos are proof. A few days ago I finally received the long-awaited call from the school principal Polixeni Papamihail. All bureaucratic hurdles have been overcome and the 80cm wide house wall has finally been broken through. In a few days, inshallah, the new door can be installed! I will of course keep you updated!
As of June 2014
Construction work begins during the summer holidays! The Greek bureaucratic wheels are grinding slowly! Yesterday the headmistress informed me in an official letter that not all approvals have been received (the school is a public building!), but that she has received confirmation from the municipality that construction work will definitely begin during the summer holidays. Note from Ursula: unfortunately the start of construction got stuck again due to a bureaucratic intricacy! The summer holidays could not be used. We all practice patience.
As of March 2014
The construction work begins! Thanks to your generous donations, we had been collecting the money since February, but we waited to transfer it until the officially prescribed procedure of submitting the building application, permit, report from the architect, cost estimate, etc. had been completed. We were now able to transfer the collected amount of €3000 directly to the school and construction work has definitely begun! That’s the promise.
Call for donations December 2013
In addition to the heating oil supply in winter, there is another need for schools in our village Christos Rahes, which unfortunately cannot be financed from public funds at the moment.
It’s about the student toilet at the local elementary school. It is located outside the school building and cannot be reached from inside. Not a problem in the dry and warm season, but as soon as the autumn and winter storms blow (and they do so powerfully at an altitude of 500 meters above sea level), torrential rain often occurs. After the approximately 50 meter long walk, the children are completely soaked when they arrive at the toilet house. Things look no different back.
Sitting afterwards in wet clothes in a classroom that is only sparsely heated is not exactly good for your health, especially for the very little ones.
This is why the idea came up to break through a door on the eastern end wall of the school, which borders the separate toilet block, and to openly cover the distance between the door exit and the toilet. According to a local craftsman’s offer, the wall breakthrough including the door would cost at least €1,000. A further €2,000 would be expected to cover the gap.
The relatively high price for the breakthrough is explained by the traditional construction of the school, whose 80 centimeter thick outer walls were built from natural stone. An opening can lead to static problems and must be done very carefully by a specialist.
As already mentioned in the introduction, there is not enough money for this measure and it would be extremely gratifying if the children’s everyday school life could be improved through generous donations, which we hereby appeal for. We are reaching out to everyone who has gotten to know and love Ikaria and/or would like to support the people living here during the difficult time of the crisis.
Practiced solidarity:
So if you feel solidarity and want to help, you can make a small donation to support the primary school! The children of Raches thank you very much! To the donation accounts…