Letter from an ex volunteer to PRAXIS
My experience of European volunteering in Greece was certainly dynamic and exhilarating.
I would like to tell my best memories of this experience, let’s start from the beginning.
When I arrived in Thessaloniki, it was about nine o’clock in the evening and a certain Kostas was waiting for me at the airport. This person had the task of taking me to Serres, a small town in the north of Greece where the project was based.
Telling him that I had eaten nothing during the trip, he took me to taste a typical Greek food named "Bougatsa", explaining that what I was eating is a typical food of that city.
From there a great friendship was born.
 That welcome gave me an idea of ​​the family in which I was joining.
 The most positive thing that remains to me about Greek culture is an immense hospitality.
Exactly from this hospitality, friendships were born between me and local people.
I am really glad about having took part on this project with guys from all over Europe, facing difficulties due to different ways of thinking, different cultures and different origins.
An aspect that shouldn’t be underestimated is that before leaving I had some prejudices about other nationalities, these same prejudices were extirpated by the end of project.
The classic stereotypes about nationalities turned out to be unfounded and not true.
Considering the educational and social gain of this project demonstrated on my person, we can therefore say that the name "bringing down the barriers" for our Facebook group is completely appropriate.
I learned a lot from my work on the radio, but what I'm really proud of myself is that I opened my horizons, I went further. I had direct contact with people less fortunate than me who were denied a fundamental right: "freedom".
I have learnt listening to them that we should appreciate more what we have.
I would define this like best experience I have ever had. It has been for me the first time living abroad, i met so many people an gained so many friends.
 I won’t forget the football matches with sub-zero temperatures in which I took part with greek friends, the evening spent with guys chilling out, our adventures in other greek cities.
A special mention goes to Edina, a volunteer who was close to me, a strong shoulder to rely on, who helped me to pass difficult moments and shared moments of joy with me.
I am grateful for the opportunity I received, I really thank everyone.
I would like to take advantage of this article to publicly greet my friends Kostas Boubas and Giannis, Giuseppe Pino (the barber), Kostas Savvoulidis and all the families who welcomed me into their home.
See you soon Serres!!

Do you also feel the longterm climatchange? Do you also feel that it is getting warmer from year to year?

The weather is a complex thing and it is in danger because of the current situation and the effects of the longterm climat change. More heat, more storms, more rain.

The weather is such a powerful thing and the effects of extreme weather can be really terrible. You can see that nearly every day in the news. The drough in Chile and the tropical cyclone in Mozambique are just some actual examples, but there are sadly so much more.

Early warning systems are as important as never to protect lifes. But wheater forcasts are not such an easy thing! They need to be updated during the whole day and night, and all over the world, you need a lot of different informations before you can spread concrete forcasts. Most of these tests and observations are carried out by National Meteological Services as part of the WMO World Weather Watch. They are responsible for spreading this informations after that, so everyone has access to that. This is really important, because the weather on the whole world is connectect.

As you can see, it is difficulte but even more important. A lot of lifes can be saved with early wheater forcasts!

To focus on the importants of that and also on the weather problems because of the climat change, we celebrate the world meteorological day at the 23. of march.

The moto this year is in my opinion a good summary and also a really good appeal:

ACT WEATHER-READY AND CLIMATE-SMART!

Keep that in your mind!

​

Lioba Einhoff

Many of us do not have to think about water that much, when it comes to drinking water. But if you once look globally you will see that there are far more water problems than you may have expected. In fact more than 4 billion people – which is nearly two third of the world’s population! – face severe water scarcity during at least one month of the year. The purpose for this article is that I want to create awareness for these huge water problems that we have on our planet nowadays. 

​

Water problems can have many reasons, starting with problems coursed by the climate change, environmental degradation or migration flows to problems coursed by forms of discrimination like sex and gender discrimination, disability, age and health status, race, religion, economic and social status. Because there are so many reasons, why people have a missing access to water and especially drinking water it is not surprising that 2.1 billion people live without safe water at home. Even more shocking is the fact that over 700 children aged under five die from diarrhea everyday, because of unsafe and unclean water. It emphasizes how important clean and fresh water and good sanitation are on a daily basis. This years theme of the International World Water Day is “leaving no one behind“ which means that the this years campaign focuses on including people who have been ignored and marginalized. Water is a human right and therefore no one should face struggles getting water, particularly when the struggles are linked to discrimination, marginalization and racism. 
To change the current situation, everyone can and has to do something. It can start with being aware of how you use the water at home so take care not to waste water unnecessary. Further you can engage yourself in various fundings or projects that support the free  access to clean water. So follow the motto of Praxis Greece and “don’t be apart, take part“ !

​

Written by Jordy Forget

An article by Alba San Juan Gudiña

​What is the first thing that crosses your mind if I say Down syndrome? 
 
Probably, words like "disability" or "feeling sorry" cross your mind. And it is likely that you are thinking of kids... Although there are people of all ages with Down syndrome. 
It is possible that you feel there is something wrong with them, and that they would be better if they did not have Down syndrome. 

​Since today is International Down Syndrome Day, (from now on, DS) I wanted to write this article to say that we have to change our mindset, the way we see DS. 
There is absolutely nothing wrong with them, nor with the fact that they have DS. 
Down syndrome is simply a genetic alteration consisting in the existence of an extra copy of chromosome 21 (or part of it), instead of the conventional two, and it is also called Trisomy 21. 

​I am not saying that they don't have any complications derived from DS, such as cardiac problems. What I am actually trying to say is that we have to leave behind our ableist way of thinking to stop feeling sorry for them, or what is even worse, the thought that they are not good enough to be integrated in society. 
 
To be honest, I think we make it very difficult for them: most part of society makes erroneous assumptions about people with Down syndrome – they are unpredictable, uneducable, unemployable burdens on society.

​Therefore, people with DS face a double difficulty: those that come from DS itself and those derived from the way society thinks, that do not let them integrate into society, and intends to relegate them into the background, always as passive members, such as day-care users, and not active members of the work market: simple worker, access controller... 
 
In this ableist world, we have to stop excluding those who are different in any aspect and start integrating them, because if we just see their disabilities (being that DS or any others), we will not see the potential they possess and will miss the fact that they are unique and special, as we everyone are, with talents, desires and goals. 

​Furthermore, I think today (Down Syndrome International Day) is a day to ask for a mindset change, so we can stop seeing them as disabled, to start seeing them as what they are: human beings. 

Sources: 
https://www.globaldownsyndrome.org/about-down-syndrome/the-story-of-two-syndromes/ 
​https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Down_syndrome 

Do you remember the last time you were in a forest, do you remember all the smells, the sounds, the birds and the trees? All these impressions, the slight rattle of the leaves beneath your feet, the distant hammering of a woodpecker or the calming scent of a Pinegrove.
Now visualize the entire experience before your inner eye. Can you see it? Can you relive the experience? Yes? good.
Now Imagine what it would be like if all of that would be taken away, no more leaves falling around you, no more beams of sunlight peeking through the trees, no more birdsong in your ears. It would be terrifying right?
This is the future we are heading into if we don’t start caring more about our forests and starting to protect its complex ecosystem. Day by day more wooded areas get deforested; Day by day more trees die due to pollution and Day by day more forests are being destroyed by Fire.
This is the reason why we celebrate the International Day of Forests. Every year on the 21. of March we are being reminded of the importance and our reliance on our forests, to provide us with food, wood and most importantly fresh air to breathe.
So please get out take a stroll through the forest and help protecting it.

Written by: Bjarne Hundt

For more information visit:
www.un.org/en/events/forestsday/

Today is the World Poetry Day!!

Poetry, for me, is a really beautiful way to express!
For that I would like to share with you one of my favourites poems, which is written  from Gabriel García Marquez. 
It is in Spanish, but here you can read the translation.

​​Traveling is leaving from home
It's leaving behind the friends
It's trying to fly
Fly learning other branches
Walking through paths
It´s trying to change
 
​Traveling is getting dressed (looking) like a crazy
It's saying ''I don't care''
It's wanting to return
Return giving value to the little (things)
Tasting a cup
It's wishing to begin
 
Traveling is feeling like a poet
Writing a letter
It's wanting to hug
Hug when you arrive at a door
Yearning the calmness
It's letting to be kissed
 
Traveling is becoming mundane
It's meeting new people
It's starting again
Starting extending the hand
learning from the powerful
It's feeling the loneliness

Traveling is leaving from home
is getting dressed (looking) like a crazy
Telling everything and nothing on a postcard
It's sleeping in another bed
Feeling that time is short
Traveling is coming back.

Rakel Colás Gorricho

I like to be in charge of this international day of happiness, because they know that I'm a happy person!
 
But to get to this point there have been a thousand stories that I've lived, I've known sadness, I've seen videos, I've read, I’ve reflected a lot... and this contribute quite to your happiness but, as well,  you have to work yourself. And unexpectedly, one day you feel in complete peace with yourself and that means happiness! Then for you is quite easy to smile even if you don’t have any motive because you feel good, and you try to be good,  helping to make a better world, to share your peace and happiness. But happiness is not smiling all the time, I can describe like a feeling of peace, in which you can deal with all kind of situation but in peace.
 
That’s for me happiness, but currently, the society, the media... sell us that we will finally reach when we pass our studies, then when you find a couple, you create a family, when you have a house, buy a car ... and so on. So in this way we only get frustrated when we do not get it or when we get it and we have to go for something else ..
So, is that really happiness?
 
I could say that the happiest people I've met barely had anything, you could say that not even a roof as decent as we have. So if we have everything that we need, why are not we as happy as them?  that is because the more we have more we want, the more we demand, the more we get frustrated, the farther we go of the happiness.

In my opinion, in the first place you know the momentary happiness, it is about moments in which you are happy, not all the time, for example when it sounds on the radio that song that you like so much, when you plan a trip, when you do it, a Interesting conversation among friends, a good movie on TV on a rainy Sunday, toast in the morning, climb to the top of a hill and be clear, do a good workout one day that you were reluctant ...
 
Happiness can have a thousand faces that collaborate little by little to make your days, your hours happier ...
 
However, when everything that happens in your day, it makes you feel good, when everything you live can see a positive side no matter how bad it is, when you learn that you should not worry so much that in the end everything has a solution... At that point is where you can say that you are a totally happy person, but it does not depend on anything material or anyone, happiness is in you and only depends on you.
 
That is why you have to love yourself, feel comfortable with yourself, like yourself, and like whatever you do, like your dealings with others ... Be at peace with yourself and good to others.
Ok, you can say but is not easy to feel well with yourself. Noo!! it’s possible love you, because you are unique with your good and your bad characteristics and if you do not like something you take your time to change it  fell yourself beautiful and don’t believe in the perfect bodies that the magazines show because this is not the real world.

But do not think you will not have bad moments (actually, it is true, you have not got to many) but we should also allow ourselves to cry, and draw out those negative, sad energies ... you could say that It is a way of cleaning up, but being well with you, it will be easier to reconvert and then smile again.
 
I do not know if you are happy at times or completely, but I wish you to love yourself, to worry a little less, to enjoy every experience that you live because for better or worse they end up and above all you learn something, just give a few minutes and stop to think, turn it around, do not be so negative ... in the end it's the worst thing that can happen to you, as long as it's not death ..
So enjoy each moment!! =)
​

Rakel Colás Gorricho

I was born in a racist society. 
​Although the education from my parents and my school wasn’t racist, the comments that I heard in the street, the news, people who crossed fenced, people spoke about white or black, even in the crayons exist, in Spanish, at least, the colour flesh which means, like the skin of white people and more cases...was so racist.

As I have grown, I have developed my way of thinking, and for me, all the time is even harder to understand the racism.

With a naked eye, it looks like the first division is the skin colour. But I don’t understand why the people speak about black people contemptuously, because at the end, we dream to be black, we spend money and time in the sun just to be black!! And what is more, we not even have the same colour throughout the whole year.

On the other hand, the limits and borders, maybe I would need more knowledge to speak about that, but another thing that I don’t understand, if we all are from the same world “The Earth”, we create limits for the control of the economy, trade, resources... and people?? Seriously?, But for what or whom? If the world suppose would not belong to anyone or belongs to everyone, why some people are denied in some parts of the world, they cannot access, they are even illegal, why other people have to move because they are seeing how their own house are destroying... I think that some people are not interested in them because they do not bring money  and they just come to develop countries to earn it humbly and honestly.

Another fact, that catches my attention, is that these people who say that the emigrants come to our countries to take us to our jobs, but the jobs of who? If this poor people take the jobs who anyone wants and in exchange of a miserable salary and even they do not complain.

After note of this kind of behaviour , I traveled and to travel open your mind, and make you more tolerant. So I traveled to underdeveloped countries, and I lived with people who haven’t anything, some of them even they had escaped from their countries for the war and they give to you everything that they have! I lived with people who was colonized by a Spanish guy in 1492, and they did not hate me, they loved me. Then it is when you realized how they treat us, even they know probably that we have more money than them, but they have more heart and that fact they don’t care, they just want that you feel happy and comfortable with them, to know their culture... they will take care of you like a son or a daughter.

I know that could be quite difficult to fight against these people of a closed mind, but we need more human awareness, because all of us, we are humans, brothers and sisters, from this world, and we don’t choose where we were born, but you can choose to act with your heart.
​
P.S: To all these people whose dream is moving to developing countries, I am not very  sure if it would be worthy, you will lose your culture, your essence, to finish submitting to the capitalistic society of the” Development” countries.
And to the people who have never gone to undeveloped countries, I recommend you to live for at least some days in one because you learn about respect, humble, tolerance, and of course your mind will change, because they will make you feel even better than home. Thank you for your respect, for your welcome to all the people who decide to go to your countries or to know you, thank you to show that still exist heart in the world above interests economics.

​ Rakel Colás Gorricho 

Written by Jordy Forget