The World Over
Jesus Christ
(John 14:27)
Agape Communities
The Purpose
Motivated by the Christian faith and our love for God, we will aim to create therapeutic communities in Greece. The communities will serve our fellow human beings without discrimination.
The Need
Drug Addiction.
In June 2006 we met with Dr Kaloterakis who is the head for the North of Greece KE.Θ.Ε.Α, a network of Therapy centres for persons with dependencies. He told us of the magnitude of the problem by saying that in Greece it is now almost impossible to find an extended family that does not have at least one member who suffers with a drug addiction.
He also told us how the help offered is scarce and many dependent people have to join long-waiting lists in order to receive any help.
Alcohol Addiction
Binge Drinking is now fast becoming a habit and mode of relaxation for young people. Many family breakdowns are due to alcohol addiction, even if this is not always openly obvious.
Special Needs
Families with special-needs children often face social exclusion and parents are left to look after their special-needs children without any help.
Homes or schools for special needs children are few and many special needs children do not gain entry to such a school.
There is absolutely no provision for such children after they leave school.
The Vision
Since the 1960s many people gathered to the cities which offered better job opportunities with the result that now many villages in the mountainous and rural areas are left uninhabited.
Our aim is to purchase and rebuild such villages in order to house therapeutic communities.
We will endeavour to create energy efficient, solar and wind powered buildings and yet retain the character of the village by restoring the often stone-built houses.
Residents can be living in groups of 3 or 4 in small houses with a resident who has already been through the program being in charge of the household.
The program will be put together and overseen by professionals in the field and modelled after similar such communities that The Salvation Army runs in Sweden.
Capital
Since this is very early days, we do not have any figures of how much it will cost to purchase, rebuild and set up Agape communities. In the meantime we would value promises of support for our cause.
Sustainability
We will seek the assistance of the Government in sustaining the communities. We will also endeavour to be productive as well as educational. For example computing and web-design may be taught in the community and then use the skill in generating income for the community. Other such trades and skills as carpentry, agriculture, vine dressing, animal farming and bee keeping may be taught in the Centre and at the same time be modes of income generation.
Voluntarism will be something that we would very actively promote and depend upon.
Expansion
We are thinking of beginning with a community for people dependent on drugs and then go on to establish communities for alcoholics and later for people with special needs. One step at a time, one community after the other.
For more information or an update please contact:
Captain Haris Giannaros
The Salvation Army
21-23 Dalling Road
London W6 0JD
Great Britain
020 8748 9332
haris@salvationarmy.gr