Khuder

INTERVIEW

I am Khuder, I am from Iraq (Kurdish) and have been in Greece for 4 years.

How did you find out about Elpida Home and what brought you here?

I was in a camp and I had some friends who recognised that my son was a special case. They told me that there is an organisation who are able to provide support for those with special cases and that is when we came to Elpida Home.

Could you outline a little more about your son? What support were Elpida Home able to provide?

Yes, he is 8 years on and has autism. They helped so much medically, with hospital visits such as providing a translator, training for my family, my children, and generally provided lots of support for my family. They also organised a lawyer to help us with our asylum process.

What has been the biggest change for Mohammed since arriving?

It is so different between Iraq and here in Greece. In Iraq there is no specialist school for those with special cases. There was no support for my son and because there are no exams in the hospitals, they were not able to work out exactly what was wrong. If I wanted to do anything there, I would have to raise so much money for any sort of support since it is all private and the public offering is lacking many resources. Here in Greece a specialist school is provided for my son alongside training and treatment for myself and my family.

In Greece thanks to Elpida Home, my son has two psychological and physiotherapy sessions per week and the improvement has been phenomenal. There has been plenty of support from a medical perspective and we are really grateful.

Do you feel that you have more freedom now that your son has been supported?

Yes. Before, our son was very noisy – he used to shout lots and the neighbours would get aggravated. Now the son is much more calm and this has had an effect on the rest of the family since we can relax much more now too. As you may be aware, with autism it is so difficult for the family to provide and help the child.

Mohammed has improved about 70% we would say and that is completely thanks to Elpida Home organising all the support for us and him.

Obviously coming to Greece is a shock in itself but especially when you have a child with a special case, how have you found the integration?

I feel much safer here since the Greek people make you feel much more welcome than in Iraq. The environment is so different here than in Iraq.

Are there any projects which Elpida Home provided?

I could not wish for anything more from Elpida Home, they provide everything. The only thing which I wish for is that dog therapy restarts because it has stopped since Covid-19 and now he wishes for dog therapy for those with special cases.

Together we can make a difference

Now more than ever refugee families need our support. Your continued support will help provide food, medical care and emergency supplies to children, and families from conflict-affected countries like Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria & Ukraine.

INTERVIEW

Khuder

In Greece thanks to Elpida Home, my son has two psychological and physiotherapy sessions per week and the improvement has been phenomenal. There has been plenty of support from a medical perspective and we are really grateful.

Mohammed has improved about 70% we would say and that is completely thanks to Elpida Home organising all the support for us and him.

Together we can make a difference

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