Safe Housing Greece Project #68005

Support refugee mothers and newborns in Athens

by CRIBS International

Project Report | Sep 15, 2026
A warm Greek summer supporting our community!

By Cecilia Balbo | Fundraising Officer

Summer is over, but not our work!

We are pleased to share another four months during which we continued to operate safely, providing for the basic needs of our beneficiaries.

Our housing program remains strong. Despite the summer heat, we continued to support our community by maintaining and caring for our apartments. We are happy to report that two families have moved into independent housing, which represents a huge milestone and a clear reflection of what we set out to achieve: safe, stable housing for refugee mothers and pregnant women, and a path toward independence.

In July, we said goodbye to one of our beloved caseworkers. Her contribution to CRIBS was invaluable and will not be forgotten. We have since welcomed a new caseworker to the team, who brings fresh insight and perspective while continuing to support our community with the same dedication.

At the end of August, we welcomed a new baby into the CRIBS community. The baby's parents, recognised refugees, had been forced to leave their accommodation while the mother was pregnant, with a toddler in tow and nowhere else to turn. We were able to secure a safe home for the family, allowing the mother to prepare safely for the birth of her child.

There is good news ahead! Thanks to the dedication of our caseworkers, a total of 24 children have been enrolled in school this year: 14 in nursery, 6 in kindergarten, and 4 in primary school. Navigating the education system in Greece is no small task, so this represents a major milestone for our community, which will help ensure these children receive the dignified support and education they deserve.

Our Community Space and partner collaborations remained active in the lead-up to summer, with numerous activities organised alongside our partner organisations, including community-building and outdoor events. Among our major events:

One-on-one English classes continued with an excellent attendance rate.
Women's Space activities were well-received. Highlights included:a joint picnic and collective art activity at the park with Action for Women and Amame, a beauty and ice cream session, a beauty and pizza session, and a lovely day at the beach.
Individual psychosocial support (PSS) sessions held on demand from our community.

Our Free Shop has remained lively. We managed to provide more appointments and reduce the waiting list numbers of 87.5%. This remarkable improvement allows us to expand our network of support: more appointments mean more people reached, and more impact made. We also renovated our children and breastfeeding corner, so that mothers can take their time during their appointments, finding a place of comfort and rest, in order to have a better and more dignified shopping experience.

Your support was key up to this point. There is still much work to be done, and with your continued donations, we can extend our support to even more women and children in need.

Thank you for being a part of it all and making it happen!

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Jun 1, 2026
Project Update from CRIBS!

By Cecilia Balbo | Fundraiser

Since our last update, the CRIBS community has been filled with new life and major milestones! In February, we celebrated the arrival of a beautiful newborn baby (wasn’t Babette’s stillborn?), bringing immense joy to us all. Our housing program has been operating at absolute full capacity to meet the urgent needs of mothers and children. In April, we welcomed a single mother and her three children, including a newborn, arriving safely from Malakasa camp. We also stepped in to provide emergency shelter to a Sudanese family with three children who had been surviving on the streets; thanks to a vital network of partner NGOs, we are collectively supporting them through this transitional period.

Behind the scenes, our casework team has worked tirelessly. A massive focus throughout April and May was dedicated to navigating the complex, Greek-only administrative system to submit nursery applications, ensuring our littlest community members can access early education.

Our Community Space and partner collaborations have remained vibrant hubs for connection, education, and healing. In February, we partnered with Women’s Healthcare On the Move (WHOM) for an essential workshop on menstrual health. Art and creative growth also took center stage this season. Our mothers attended a powerful art exhibition by Georgia Lale focused on gender-based violence prevention, followed by an immersive visit to the ANKAA fashion exhibition, which beautifully highlights the life stories of refugee tailors. Later, AMURTEL hosted a wonderful storytelling workshop for our French-speaking mothers, while Action for Women hosted a hands-on earring-making workshop and vital sessions on workers' rights, women's rights, and healthcare. We made sure to balance hard work with joy: after the Easter break, we celebrated spring with a lively outdoor picnic and egg hunt, where the kids played hide-and-seek, spotted local turtles, and shared gyros and chocolate treats.

Meanwhile, our language program is thriving. We continue to offer one-to-one English sessions for absolute beginners alongside weekly group classes, creating a supportive environment where women build the language skills needed for their futures.

Ultimately, helping families make great strides toward independent living remains at the very heart of our mission. This period saw deeply moving milestones across our flats: several women successfully moved out of our housing system into their own independent accommodations, and another family successfully relocated to the islands after the father secured a stable job opportunity. Our casework team was actively involved in physically moving one of our long-term families into their new independent apartment, a beautiful milestone of stability that your generosity made possible.

Thank you for being a part of making it all happen!

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Feb 2, 2026
Project Update from CRIBS in Athens!

By Veronica Lopes da Silva | Fundraiser

Since our last update, we've welcomed new babies into the CRIBS community! Two babies were born in October. S gave birth to her second boy and had a smooth recovery from her C-section, while her eldest has been proudly stepping into his new role as a big brother! A gave birth to a baby girl following a very speedy labour! Both mums are living in the same CRIBS flat, exclusively breastfeeding and doing well with the support of their Case Manager and the wider CRIBS community.

CRIBS mothers attended the community space and participated in activities, including language classes and specialist workshops aimed at improving wellbeing and increasing confidence and skills. At the end of September, we partnered with Women’s Healthcare On the Move to deliver a well-attended session on reproductive health and contraception. In October we had a lovely Yoga class offered by Yoga & Sport with Refugees and in December, Action for Women joined us for a workshop on Positive Parenting. Other sessions included a weaving workshop, a self-care session, and a practical support session on how to access key services in Athens independently.

Our casework team has continued to provide person-centred wraparound support for expectant and new mothers navigating complex and unfamiliar systems. Case managers liaised with lawyers regarding their asylum cases and identified training opportunities to support mothers in developing new skills and pathways to future employment and stability. They have also supported some families to complete the necessary administrative processes in order to access health care, the local job market and open bank accounts.

In this period, several mothers have made great strides toward independence, accessing training opportunities, looking for employment, or finding stable housing beyond CRIBS. One mother completed a training programme in hotel housekeeping through a partner organisation we referred her to, and she is now actively seeking employment. Another mother completed a chef training and is now looking for employment.

Two mothers have also successfully moved into independent housing after receiving their moving on grants and securing accommodation on their own. One of them remains in touch with our casework team for support with medical appointments and vaccinations. We have welcomed one new family, a mother and her eight-month-old child, and we are currently reviewing referrals for the second available space, with priority given to families with health concerns and survivors of gender-based violence.

We ended 2025 with a festive party in our Community Space and distributed presents generously donated by local supporters - and we look forward to another year of supporting mothers and babies in the CRIBS community.

Thank you for being a part of making it all happen!

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