After an earthquake, recovery includes ordinary needs that cannot wait: groceries, a child’s school bag, and a place to gather with neighbors. Following the June 2017 earthquake on Lesvos, the Greek America Foundation supported families in Vrysa with groceries, supplies for school, and opportunities to come together again.
The Foundation’s board launched a relief effort, and a GAF delegation visited the village to meet local officials and understand the damage. By January 2018, our supporters had helped raise nearly $45,000. Their generosity reached families through food support, school supplies, and a holiday gathering for the village’s children.
Groceries while families were displaced
GAF worked with Iliaktida, a nonprofit on Lesvos, to provide supermarket vouchers to families who had lost their homes. By January 2018, the program was supporting 40 families, with monthly vouchers valued at $80 to $120 depending on household size.
Working with a local partner helped us reach families who needed support. Iliaktida worked with local government to identify families in need, distributed the vouchers in person, and kept records of receipt. The assistance addressed an immediate household expense while families were living away from home.
Helping children return to school
Vrysa’s school building had been destroyed. When classes resumed in temporary prefabricated buildings in autumn 2017, GAF’s Project Hope for Greece provided school bags, notebooks, pencils, and other supplies.
Our supporters helped equip children for that return to the classroom. A school bag and a set of notebooks offered practical help to parents already facing the costs and uncertainty of displacement.
Making space for a celebration
In early January 2018, the Foundation and Iliaktida also organized a holiday gathering for children and parents. There was vasilopita, time together, and gift certificates for a local toy store.
For GAF, caring for a community means paying attention to the many parts of family life. There are bills to meet and children to prepare for school. There are also traditions worth keeping, even when a family cannot celebrate in its own home.
The people who supported this effort helped us stay involved beyond the first days of the emergency. Through a trusted local partnership, generosity from our community became help that families on Lesvos could use in their daily lives.
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