School Resource

"No one leaves home unless home is the mouth of a Shark"

This is thought provoking and great the thought given to schools for the refugees in Cities of Sanctuary......The resource packs are brilliant to help all children understand the plight of refugees and fleeing war and pain.....BUT it makes me wish I could get back to Athens and go again to Scaramangas Camp with Boshra to see her friend Amira.....Amira would love this idea and could help to write an educational package too..... She is a qualified infant school teacher now a refugee in the camp.... all we need is for her to become fluent in English and of course Greek for this to be done in Greece while she is there....... So so so much talent, skills and expertise among the refugees in all the places around the world......Families displaced from the home that did become a very big mouth of a very big Shark.....!

We need to rebuild lives and enhance our lives with their sharing and care for one another.....

Boshra Amira Baseel and Mohammed on our visit to Scarmangas camp.....
Business Admin Graduate, Infant school teacher, Veterinary Surgeon and IT specialist..... all Syrian refugees in Greece....and my Princess with her boyfriend who was reluctant to share his biscuits with her earlier .....so when she did get to the packet she took two handfuls ...:-) 

Paddington Care Bear

One of my Good night Auntie MarMar photos that has come through on my facebook tonight........ :-) I see Paddington Bear is on his care duties with love.....and clearly settled in his new home in Athens...

My princess looks all cosy in her all in one sleep suit but growing up fast..... soon she will be the big sister of her new brother or sister to come....

I do hope we can find funds for me to fly over and help with the new baby due in February.....

And Sisters reading this blog please her mama needs some maternity wear..... 

Goodnight

تصبح على خير    ΚΑΛΗΝΥΧΤΑ

Parliament today

We had an amazing day's input on Cities of Sanctuary and all the good work being done with groups up and down the UK to help refugees. Thanks to Thangam Debbonaire MP for Bristol West for organizing Committee room 14 for a day of sharing of refugee stories and experiences, poems and songs and all the problems in the system that fail or make the claim for asylum a difficult and protracted journey..... 

Met a lovely group from Brecon, Hay and Talgarth in Wales... one of the group members was a kindly retired doctor...... and the place is perfect for healing... refugees enjoy walks and talks and sharing - many that are from farmland areas love making friendship with the local farmers.... and are integrated into the community with care compassion and respect for one another ..... 

then we joined Thangam in the Grand Committee room for a debate on an improved system for relative reunion...... this was a little difficult for us public voyeurs as we were alarmed that the Tory response and rhetoric for we must not encourage a pull to the UK...!!!!!!!! many refugees actually are watching the attitudes and wishing to go Canada as seems the most welcoming.... BUT in among the attitudes we are groups of compassion and care and we are all in unison to improve the help to rebuild lives..... and help our global family.....

Good to see Diane Abbot and make her aware of my family link up project got to email her and cc John my MP and Thangam. I have asked if I can join in the APPG group for Refugees and she is happy...... I am to email her on the family link up project too.... So good day.....

Parliament had a sparkle today for Christmas and was good to see the young children coming for a show round.....some tiny tots were dressed in high vis jackets and looked like little ducklings following the teacher...and seemed extra tiny in the great hall ... all holding hands with one another.  We had a happy atmosphere the way it should be - but tinged with sadness that not all children where having a happy day..... horror reports on the news show that some children are denied the right to have a happy life without war and conflict.... as a global family we must stop this pain surely??

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Longing to return

I am now finding I am upset every day with frustration that I cannot get back out to see this lovely little princess and her mother in Athens.  My dear Boshra is due a second baby in February and I would like to be able to help her.  I can only hope that this project will be seen for the amazing potential it has to help many... and to help link up business and traders too.  

There are the winter months to endure and would like to get more food and clothing to them. 

Alongside the need to get out to Athens there is the neonatal cargo to still pay for.  

The family in Turkey have some amazing developments for me to help with including the idea of a centre start up..... so lots to keep me busy but I still need the funding.  

As you know from previous posts my MEP response to me is there are EU funds for refugees but only for organisations not individual carer/befrienders......  something we need to look at as so many are going out to befriend families at personal expense. There is a human need to help as displaced families are now scattered due to political border closures..... and we have amazing lives to rebuild. 

This project is my life.    I am continuing to research on the issues and search for grants and sponsors and long term funding.  This project has great potential and lots of caring, learning and sharing at its core. 

While I am grounded in the UK I can offer 

• To  present a talk on the project with a donation to fund raising......with this also help raise awareness of a cause for your organisation or group, as we blog and promote the event on social media.
• Those wishing to improve conversational English I do hold a TEFL cert and can meet up to help you. I am in London we can have cafe table lessons in great places...So contact me if you need me to help you - fee is donation to the fundraising.  
• Do you need any help with a project of yours for fee of donation to my project.
• Is there any paid work that you think I could help with. 
• Do you have concert gig where I can come along to promote my project and we do a joint social media promotion. 
• As grandmother I can babysit too :-) so contact me fee donation to the Family Link Project. 

Any ideas for fundraising please contact me email marjoriesyardATgmail.com 

Let me know if you want a page promotion on this blog as the visitor stats build up. Fee donation to the Family Link Up project. 

"Writing Local, Thinking Global" Hillingdon authors read their work

Hillingdon Literary Festival 

The reading of our collaborative work for the competition 

 Writing Local Thinking Global 

We were one of the six short listed for the prize with Umbilical Cord to Motherland - Dante and myself created from my translations and conversations together. 

Taken with Love Received with Love

With my family link up project I am a direct link up... hand to hand .... the donation of clothes given I took over as you saw in my reports earlier to Athens. In the Eleonas camp Boshra and me had a great time calling the mothers around to select what they wanted from the clothes..... The love was shared and we enjoyed our time together. Help me to share more love - I need donations to help me keep this family linked up and to reach out to the communities in the camps where they are.... This project is my life and I feel so grounded without the funds to continue my spread of love...... I have written to MPs MEPs Presidents and Speaker of the House to help me find funds.... My MEP has emailed back and led me to some funds but all the funds are for organisations to apply not individual carer/befrienders like me......So I am reliant on donations if you can help - be part of the spread of love ..... thanks Marjorie

So from donation to the great days washing ironing vacuum packing the baby clothes to the flight to Athens to arriving in the camp.... and the distribution of to the mothers......  This demonstrates my commitment to hand to hand link up.... Donations of funds will help me do more trips and help more.  

Cargo help please

The donation of neonatal specialist feed and equipment that was given with love from brave mother that had lost her child to a genetic disorder - Sadly the NHS trust would not take the equipment back and this poor mother was left with all the equipment left over as a constant reminder of the painful journey she had been through.   She asked to get this out to Athens for doctors to help with sick refugee babies and babies i the community.  She wanted her daughters short life to mean something in the world and help others...... The donation was full of love .... and this was lovingly dispatched off to Athens by the DHL.... they have given me wonderful service and the team in Athens were good. The cargo was accepted by a paedriatric dietetics department with grateful thanks... 

I need donations to help pay for the cargo bill.... again I am writing around for help but no help is coming my way. I am reliant on donations from the gofundme. The company need to be paid..... as they do a lot of work for other humanitarian causes too... We need to keep them in business to help more with good campaigns and projects....... PLEASE CAN YOU HELP ME? Please I am desperate to settle the bill. My little pension is exhausted and I am trying to find ways to fund this Family Link up Project... this is my life for the rest of my life......thanks

The pick up of the cargo from my home..... the company sorted out the boxes paletted them and wrapped them and helped with all the customs requirements..... we had pictures of contents and the Athens team at the cargo depo were brilliant .... we managed to get them delivered and we got them to the camp till I could find a team that would appreciate them.  I was led to the Athens General Hospital and the dietetics team came to the camp to collect the cargo..... So this mission was completed.  But I need to pay the cargo bill..... please help .... every donation goes direct to the project needs. All my work is evidenced and I write up reports to the UNHCR and my MP to keep them updated with all I am doing as an individual carer/befriender.....