Elly
Accounting Department of EDRA
1/
A-B-C- I am from the most recent employees in EDRA and I know the activities of the organization
from discussions with my colleagues, as some months after I started working here the covid
19 crisis broke out and most activities were paused. I have been interested in mental health and I
have always wanted to offer, so I am really happy that now I am part of this organization that offers so much to people who need it. I would like in the future to be more active in social action that will be organized by EDRA and only from my post in the accounting department.
2/
A-B- When I first came to Greece I was year old. I was impressed by how Greece is shiny, it is sunny almost all days of the year.
Its natural beauty is amazing. I was also impressed by the hospitality of the people and they want welcome you when you visit Greece.
I also love mediterranean cuisine. Finally, I love the fact that you are able here to be socially active. I don’t like gossip and Greeks gossip a lot. Gossip shows a maliciousness that is expressed indirectly. People in Moldova, where I was born, show directly their resentment without pretending. Last but not least, in the summer there is so much heat that I cannot stand it ! I am good at looking after kids. We play nice together. I love animals, I really would like to have a job that has to do with animals.
3/ Elly’s secret life by Anna
Elly goes to children’s hospitals and she takes care of the ill children. She offers them love, care and joy. Elly also has a flying truck called Marika. She flies with her truck to space. She organizes rides to amuse refugee children and to offer them a very special experience.
ANNA
Accounting Department of EDRA
1/
A-B-C- I have been working in EDRA for ten years now, I have gained important professional
experience all these years and I am really thankful. Moreover, I became aware of what mental
health is while I had no idea before. I used to see mental health settings as hospitals but through
my work in EDRA I realized that people who live in mental health settings are happy there and
they have the opportunity to have a nice living. I have built a nice relationship with some of them
even though I am working in the accounting department. Mental Health is something that concerns
all of us regardless of our professional specialty. I have gained valuable experience all these years
here. EDRA is not just a company, there are real relationships among its people.
2/
A-B- I love Greece because it is my country. People are honest even if they are a bit suspicious sometimes. I don’t like that even Greek are clever people, they don’t always evaluate what they hear and as a result they make wrong assumptions.
I believe that the next generation will think differently. I also like that Greece has so many nice places to discover. I am good at making people laugh, especially when someone is sad, I wanna make her/him smile. I am good at expressing myself positively and even negatively, I want to be spontaneous. I am an honest person and I admit my mistakes.
3/ Anna’s secret life by Elly
After leaving work, Anna would wear a clown costume and would go to a Black Sabbath concert.
Her hair would be colourful. She would have real fun in the concert.
ARISTEA
Communication Department of EDRA
1/
A-B-C-I started working in EDRA the first years of its establishment when the departments were
so little. The communication department did not even exist then. I am proud of being one of the
people who worked for creating the communication department of EDRA and it is a filela that I
really enjoy. Everyday I work on different things and I never get bored. I appreciate the fact that I
have been familiarized with mental health issues through my work in EDRA as it was something
that I hadn’t had experience before. I have been working here for more than ten years , I have
met many different people and I miss some of them that have left the organisation.
2/
A-B-I like and dislike Greek people. Sometimes they impress me and I am oprimistic for the future
but other times they disappoint me. As I grow up, I understand people around me better and I have
accepted greek mentality. I believe in people’s power and I believe that there are many “bright
minds’’. As regards, Greece geographically I love the different places and the different landscapes.
I would like to dedicate more time near nature and to do sports in nature. When I go to
nature, I realize how small we are and who I want to be. Even though I usually grumble, I try to be
optimistic about facts and people. I am very sensitive and I am trying to keep the children inside
me alive.
3/ Aristea’s secret life by Dimitris
Aristea is an activist. She goes to demonstrations about the protection of rights of the vulnerable.
1/
A- How can you describe your structure with your own eyes and perception ?
B- What are you doing in your structure ?
C- What does your structure change in you, in a personal way ?
2/
A- For you, what is specific to your country and its inhabitants ?
B- What is your speciality, or in what are you very good or very bad at ?
3/ Tell the secret life of the person next to you, if you don’t know, invent it.
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MARIA KOSMA
1/
A- I would say that EDRA is an organization that despite many employees, there is a feeling of a
family. The relations with the employees are closed. I have this feeling that there is a professional
family. I’ve been working in Edra since 2013, for almost 8 years. I’ve met other colleagues that
worked in other structures. The headquarter is close to Athens, we are 15 people. They are social
workers, psychologists, administrators, they are several types. We talk with therapists for the
research, for the tools we produce but I’m not in direct contact.
EDRA is a mental health organization.EDRA has two boarding houses with mental health problems
and intellectual disabilities. We have two houses, the people are semi-autonomous, they
live there and professionals care for them but not 24/24h. We work too with european projects with
the migrants and refugees but it’s separate projects.
Every October, the world day of mental health, we organize the Art4more festival. We organize it
since 12 years with a different thematics every year : mental health and work, mental health and
art, everyday life…We have a place called “art in residence”, artists live there and creating some
pieces of art. There are also workshops, people can participate, we have concerts, theater performance.
It’s a two days festival. In 2019, the director was in contact with the people of the boarding
houses and they made amazing things in dancing theater.
B- The last year and half, I’ve been working as a researcher and administrator for the european
project. I’m a sociologist, we have many projects, around 20, about mental health, disability, mental
care with art, and carelessness of the elderly.
C- Being working here, I feel that my experience helps me to mature professionally and personally.
I’ve gained many experiences and met a lot of people. I’ve been developed as a person. I do
things that I love, it’s dope.
2/
A- Greece is a beautiful country with big sees and mountains, beautiful places to visit. Let’s start
with the positive : greek people is friendly with tourists, always welcome. We said that the ancestors
of Zeus, we have the hospitality for strangers. We have a specific word for that : philoxenia.
B- I am reliable, people can rely on me when people ask something for me, I will do it. And I cook
very delicious noodles.
3/ The secret life of Maria Kosma by Aliki
Maria loves traveling. She wakes up, drink her coffee, she has a big map of the world and she’s
thinking : “ where should I travel next ?” She finds a place, choose one, then she buys a ticket for
this place. But she has to work, so she postpones it for a bit but then, she eventually goes where
she wants. And she comes to the office, she daydreams about the travels. She has a calendar
on her desk, and for every month, she has a picture of different cities. All the times, she’s dreaming
about traveling but she’s hard working. After she leaves work, she has a house in the south
of Athens, so she goes to the beach and swims. And because she is very social after swimming,
she’ll go but to her friends, to eat and drink.
ALIKI
1/
A- The sun is the official logo of EDRA, it represents what ever wants to bring the sun in the life of
people, by supporting …. /////
B- I’ve been only here since a year and an half but I’d say that I feel the colleagues helping me to
become a team worker. I wasn’t very good to work with other people, I was working on my own.
I’m the european in dissemination field. I worked with a contact base, I inform them about news,
updates.
C- I feel that my work has a meaning … ///// I think we are doing something important here.
2/
A- I think that because all generations have hear about our glorious past, some greeks think of
themselves as superior but the thing is that they do nothing to preserve this glorious past We face
a lot of racism here, but not with tourists …. ///// It is an aspect of the Greek society, it’s not the
majority. We are a cross-country, a lot of people come from Turkey. The refugees crisis affected
these racist events but the most important is that the state isn’t prepared to that, there are no laws,
no structures to be prepared, it was a shock for the state. Newer generations are more open-minded
so this os optimistic. We are the party guys, we always accept to have party with people…
///// We drink coffee all over the 24 hours of the day, you can see people drink coffee at nine in the
evening. People who visit Greece can notice that.
B- I’m very clumsy. I could tell that I can adapt easily but I’m also nervous as a person, in the
same time. For example, if someone ask something I’e never did before, I will try and do the best.
People trust me.
3/ The secret life of Aliki by Maria Kosma
I’ll describe a sunday of Aliki’s life.One of her cats is licking Aliki in order to wake up her. Aliki is
playing with her cat and the other two cats are …. ///// and they play together. Then, she gets up
and she’s feeding the cats and the dog. Then, she has her breakfast. Then, She goes out to see
her boyfriend and friends and they drink coffee next to the beach. She enjoys the company and
the nice view. Then, all the friends go to swim and have good times and all the nice things you
usually do on the beach. They go to have a late lunch. ///// They eat and drink wine and have fun.
In the evening, they return home. And I think… ///// At night, she’s searching on the internet about
vegan cosmetics. And she’s always searching for face creams, shampoos, all types of cosmetics
that they don’t test on animals. All night, she’s shopping online for these cosmetics.
DIMITRIS
Communication Department of EDRA
1/
A-B-C-EDRA is my second home since I have experienced the beginning
of the organization when my parents established it in 2001. I have worked
here from very young and I have grown up here.
I have been evolved as a personality and as a professional through EDRA. When I was younger
I used to be more arrogant. Aristea knows me very well as I’ve met her the first day she came to
work in EDRA and then I felt like she had been always working with me.
2/
A-B-I both like and dislike Greek people. They have a strong temperament and this is good and
bad at the same time. On the one hand, I love the way Greeks find to have fun but on the other
hand, I dislike the fact that many of them are rude. I love the sea, my village in Pelio mountain
where the mountain meets the sea. This is my picture of Greece.
3/ Dimitris’ secret life by Aristea
Dimitris after leaving work and before return to his home, he wears his leather jacket and he rides
hir moto and he takes part in speed races. Moreover, he is member of a secret group that transfers
important parcels. He is responsible for transferring secretly important packages.
