GLOBAL EFFORTS
Irida Women’s Center
Currently, BWI is partnering with The Irida Women’s Center in Thessaloniki, Greece. Through this collaboration, we recently launched Women Without Barriers, a project to support refugee artists in marketing and selling their artwork and products through our Etsy store. This project provides the artists with income-generating opportunities and allows them to express themselves through art. Proceeds from the project:- go directly to the artists
- fund a part-time art teacher and translator from within the community
- continue training women in sustaining this endeavor
- provide classes to refugee youth
Summer 2019: Project Karama (Arabic translation – Dignity and honor)
BWI’s first international pilot project, “Project Karama”, was volunteering with Syrian refugee children in partnership with Happy Caravan, an organization providing long-term education and creativity to children in a refugee camp near Thermopylae, Greece, about two hours outside of Athens. Five members of our BWI team traveled to the camp and supported a set curriculum Monday through Friday, while also implementing our healing arts programming. For five weeks, we taught English and math, and provided art, collage, creative writing, and dance to more than 80 children, ages 3 – 14.
In addition to working with children, we had a rare opportunity to help women and female teens who wanted to learn and improve their skills so they could prepare for life when they left the camp. Most of these women graduated from or were attending university when they were forced to leave their homes. Working one-on-one, we practiced English and computer skills and also taught creative writing and poetry so they had a vehicle to express feelings about the trauma they are experiencing. Today, members of our team continue to provide remote assistance for the staff teaching at the camp. As a result of our work, BWI has been invited to return to the Thermopylae Camp during Summer 2020 to create a first-time art exhibit that will feature the children’s visual art, photography, videography, dance and poetry. Our hope is that this event will allow the students to tell their own personal stories and express their sense of self through a variety of artistic mediums. In addition, we hope to create a “sister” event like this for children in Pagosa Springs.
Why did we work with Syrian Refugees?
Since the Syrian civil war officially began March 15, 2011, more than 5.6 million Syrians have fled the country as refugees and another 6.2 million people are displaced within Syria. Half of the people affected are children. Syrian refugee women are survivors of a war that has killed up to 470,000 people, injured 1.88 million, and created the worst humanitarian crisis in modern history. More than half of Syria’s population is now displaced. In other words, the combined populations of New York City, Boston, Washington, D.C., and Chicago are scattered, unable to go home anytime soon. While NGOs deliver lifesaving care to people fleeing conflict, their focus is on providing refugees food, water, and shelter. As a result, individuals and entire families that have been exposed to severe psychological stress typically have no specific resources to help them work through their trauma.
