Commissioner Stylianides visits “The Smile of the Child” and announces joint actions for refugee and migrant children in need of protection in Greece

PRESS RELEASE

Commissioner Stylianides visits “The Smile of the Child” and announces joint actions for refugee and migrant children in need of protection in Greece

Athens, 9th of May, 2018

Today the European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management Christos Stylianides visited the premises of “The Smile of the Child” in Athens where he had the opportunity to meet with the President of the Board of Directors, Costas Yannopoulos as well as the scientific and field team at the Operational Emergency Center of “The Smile of the Child” where the operations are coordinated in cases of emergency situations and cases of children at immediate risk.

In the framework of the visit, they announced the launch of the “Direct and Holistic Medical and Psychosocial Intervention for Refugee and Migrant Children in Danger in Greece” project.

With an EU contribution of EUR 800.000 the project will contribute to the protection of 800 minors and the improvement of their quality of life. The project, which will run until the end of 2018, is the Organisation’s first to be directly funded by the European Commission's department for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO).

The President of the Board of Directors of “The Smile of the Child” Mr. Costas Yannopoulos said: “We are honoured to welcome today at our premises Commissioner Stylianides to mark the act that we have become an official partner of DG ECHO as well as the beginning of a very important cooperation thanks to the funding by the European Commission. Children need true care, love and substantial support, which need to be provided through holistic quality actions. Being a partner of DG ECHO will allow us to intensify our efforts to address the needs of refugee and migrant children and their families living in Greece by utilising the nationwide network of integrated services and actions, which we had the opportunity to showcase today to Commissioner Stylianides.”

EU Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management Mr. Christos Stylianides said: "I would like to welcome the "Smile of the Child" in the big family of partners of DG ECHO. The experience of the organization in the sectors of health and protection is very important in addressing the needs of refugee and migrant children in Greece. I have deep appreciation for The Smile of the Child's commitment to help children, and I will support them in this important endeavour. Together, we will work to ensure the well-being of girls and boys fleeing war and provide them with the specific attention they need."

The main activities of the project include:
● Support refugee/migrant infants and children with increased medical needs accommodated in apartments in Athens and Thessaloniki (e.g. provide paediatric home treatment, medical and nursing care, physiotherapy, psychosocial support, assistance in medical consultations).

● Prevention and response to violence against refugee/migrant children via the provision of telephone counselling and direct intervention for minors victims of violence, smuggling, trafficking & missing children, handling of reports of violence in collaboration with national authorities.

The project is implemented by specialised teams in close and continuous cooperation with the authorities and the organisations that have the overall oversight of the beneficiaries. The beneficiaries themselves or the professionals/organisations/individuals can address the requests/referrals by calling the following numbers (24 hours a day/7 days a week, free of charge) or by sending an e-mail:

● National Helpline for Children SOS 1056 (sos1056@hamogelo.gr )
● European Hotline for Missing Children 116000 (116000@hamogelo.gr)
● European Helpline for Children & Adolescents 116111

“The Smile of the Child” is registered in the Registrar of volunteer organisations of the Hellenic General Secretariat for Civil Protection, setting its entire infrastructure, services, equipment and tools at the disposal of the Greek public mechanism, humanitarian and protection actors in cases of children at risk, as well as any emergency situation of risk and/or disaster.

The nationwide network of the Organisation is comprised among others of the Mobile Medical Units of Intensive Care for Children and Newborns, the Multi-medical Unit Hippocrates and other Mobile Medical Units, a Pediatric Care at Home Unit, the National Helpline for Children SOS 1056, the European Hotline for Missing Children 116000 and the European Helpline for Children & Adolescents 116111, all three interconnected with the 112 European Emergency Number, a number of specialised logistical tools (search and rescue vehicles, jeeps, radio networks, repeaters), a Mobile Command Center, the Crisis Management Center “ODYSSEAS”, a Disaster Recovery Area at the Athens International Airport and the Search and Rescue Team “Thanasis Makris” with the participation of internationally certified canine teams.

For further information, please contact:

The Smile of the Child
Panos Pardalis
Tel. +30 210 33 06 140, mobile: +30 697 51 20 654
Email: intpress@hamogelo.gr

European Commission
Carlos Martin Ruiz de Gordejuela:
Tel. +32 2 296 53 22, mobile: +32 460 79 17 16
E-mail: carlos.martin@ec.europa.eu

Daniel Puglisi:
Tel. +32 2 296 91 40, mobile: +32 460 76 73 74
E-mail: daniel.puglisi@ec.europa.eu

“The Smile of the Child” in Greek «Το Χαμόγελο του Παιδιού» is a non-profit, non-governmental Greek Organization active in the critical field of child protection, support of children and families with children in need, as well as free public health service for children, both in prevention and treatment.The Organisation was founded by a 10-year-old boy, Andreas Yannopoulos, before he succumbed to brain cancer in late 1995. In 22 years of operations the organization has supported more than 1.350.000 children and their families in the country.

The European Union with its Member States is a leading global donor of humanitarian aid. Through the European Commission's Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid department (ECHO), the EU helps over 120 million victims of conflict and disasters every year. With headquarters in Brussels and a global network of field offices, ECHO provides assistance to the most vulnerable people solely on the basis of humanitarian needs, without discrimination of race, ethnic group, religion, gender, age, nationality or political affiliation. This EUR 800.000 action has been financed through the EU Emergency Support Instrument, which enables the European Commission to fund emergency operations within the EU territory in the context of the refugee and migration crisis. So far a total of EUR 605.3 million have been contracted with UN agencies, international organisations and other framework partners for the benefit of the refugees and migrants in Greece.