The Victoria Community Centre | Athens

The Victoria Community Center remains a vital space of unity and support in Athens, strengthening connections and providing daily assistance to hundreds of people from more than 40 countries. Together with the other five partner organisations, we have become a cornerstone of support in Victoria. Our approach is holistic: through our social, legal, and medical services, as well as safe spaces for women and children and our community café, we strive to respond to the diverse needs of everyone who walks through our doors.

Since July, we've welcomed over 10,000 visitors to our center. Thanks to our partnerships, we distributed over 7,500 hot meals and served around 13,500 hot drinks. In addition, we supported women by providing around 19,000 diapers and around 8,000 sanitary pads.

The project keeps running smoothly, with new people joining our center every day alongside those who visit regularly. In the café, days pass by quickly, between cards and chess games. Initiatives such as English and Greek classes, as well as CV workshop activities, have been very successful. Thanks to these services, more than 10 beneficiaries found employment in the past month alone. In recent months, people have also benefited from the great work of our barber, a beneficiary himself, who kindly offered free haircuts on our rooftop. 

In the Women’s Space, the dedication and passion of our volunteers have made a wide variety of activities possible, ranging from sewing and crochet classes to a German and math club for children. The weekly Beauty Day on Fridays continues to be one of the women’s favorite activities, offering a moment of comfort and self-care. The Greek classes have also been particularly successful, bringing together many motivated women happy to learn.

The past months have also been full of joyful community events. During the Refugee Week in late June, we gathered with more than 120 people, sharing delicious food and enjoying live music thanks to the support of wonderful partners.  In August, we organised a Beach Day for women and children. For many of the women, who had not been able to go to the beach alone or without children for years, this simple outing carried a deep meaning. Sharing the experience together fostered a sense of community and created a safe space where everyone could look after one another.

In September, we hosted two more special events. El Sistema Greece performed a rooftop concert during lunchtime, accompanied by drinks and snacks. We also enjoyed a magical evening watching the football match between Burkina Faso and Egypt together, complete with snacks, drinks, and a small auction with fun prizes for participants. Moments like these are especially meaningful for people on the move, offering joy, social interaction, and a brief escape from daily struggles.

We are looking forward to the next months, winter is approaching, and we aim to create a cozy environment, filled with warm coffees, shared moments and what characterises the center the most: a strong sense of community.

Thank you for all the donations, which make it possible for us to sustain and grow our projects and impact.

The Victoria Community Centre (VCC) is a unique building in Athens. It is a collaborative, multifunctional effort of eight specialist partner organisations providing a holistic overview of support to people with refugee backgrounds and the local community. From social services, housing and education to medical care, a women and children’s safe space and a community cafe, Glocal Roots has overall strategic, financial and operational management of this centre. As we enter the second calendar year in our leadership position, we want to share some highlights from the first five months at the VCC:

13'653 total visits

175 visits per day on average

Main nationalities of visitors are Afghanistan, Sudan, Somalia, Egypt, Syria and Iran

 8650 hot meals served

 19750 warm drinks served

Women & Kids Space, Victoria Community Center

Our Women & Kids Space continues to go from strength-to-strength. From activities and workshops to distributions and other forms of critical support to refugee women and children, our project supports women to lead a self-determined and empowered life as a result of the access to information, community networks and support systems in our project. In the first quarter of 2025, our space welcomed 3813 women and children, mainly hailing from Afghanistan, Syria, Egypt, Bangladesh, Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, Cameroon, Sudan and Sierra Leone.

Our services currently include:

a community room where women can relax and socialize with each other

physical workshops (yoga, zumba)

weekly beauty days (nail art, face masks, threading, henna painting, hair, make-up)

monthly community activities (spring party for over 50 women and children)

weekly activity schedule including jewellery making, sewing, creative workshops

distributions of sanitary products and condoms for 300 women per month

distribution of diapers for 180 babies per month

distribution of clothing packs for newborn babies (aged 3 months and under)

distribution of clothes for women and children

weekly visits by a pediatrician for examination and vaccination (in partnership with SAMS) for over 10 children per week

monthly thematic workshops on topics (in partnership with KMOP and SAMs)

Textile Makers Space

KIDS SPACE: Our child-friendly area provides a safe space for children to learn and develop. Our project aims to improve the mental health and well-being of children by providing them with specific support to aid development and integration. Activities include:

reading corner

arts, crafts and creative time

play time, sports and dance activities

after-school programming: Math club and English club

These daily and weekly activities provide a sense of structure and routine into their lives. In our kids’ space, we provide supervised child care for mothers and fathers who take part in services at the VCC.

Links:

• https://glocalroots.org/en/