Day 6
Skyros 2020 · 9. October 2020
Final spurt
Today there is still some minor work and cleaning up to do. One group went to distribute the compiled packages with the purchased food, hygiene items, etc. to those in need. Michael went to the music school again, because small material like cables, microphones and strings were still missing. In between we tidied up our room and stowed away the material we left on the island. At the end it was empty and you could feel that it was time to say goodbye. Over the noon some of us went to the sea again, because it will be pretty much the last opportunity this year. We also packed our bags at Karin’s place, because we won’t have much time the next morning.
Later we met at 20:00 in a tavern. We invited everyone we know and who helped us to dinner. It is a common dinner with about 25 people. We showed what we were able to do the whole week and what was accomplished. As a thank you for the invitation, the residents surprised us with traditional dances. Two people came by in traditional dresses. It was a joyful togetherness and they asked us all to dance. It was great to get to know another culture in this way. It was not until 01:00 at night, that the happy evening with lots of food, dancing and much joy came to an end. It is a wonderful conclusion of this week. Unfortunately, we already have to say goodbye to most of them this evening. Everyone hopes that we will see each other again next year. With one laughing and one crying eye we are ready to go home.
-Giulia, Shannon, Michael, Ricardo
Happy reunion
We got to visit the elderly gentleman in his freshly painted home today. Even as we arrived he was beaming and thanked us countless times. He seems to like the color. Fortunately we had Silvia with us, who translated everything for us. Of course a photo could not be missing. As a small thank you we received from him a bunch of his basil, which he planted at home. With a little luck and a green thumb, it will take root and we can plant it at our home and enjoy the intensely fragrant basil. It is really impressive to see that people who have almost nothing are still willing to give something, even if they don’t have to. It was not a huge effort, but when you could see his laughter, we knew that we had made him happy. In the afternoon we received an email from the class teacher whose room we had painted. She thanked us from the bottom of her heart for our work. The finding of mold will be forwarded to the parents’ authority and we can only hope that something will change.
-Daniela, Pascal, Manuel
Home visits with Silvia
Today I was allowed to go with Silvia to vaccinate the residents. It is a very impressive experience because Silvia told me that the inhabitants of the island hardly come out of their houses. Due to the crisis this has of course worsened and many have become depressed. In Skyros, whole families live in a house that has only two rooms, which shocks me very much. But the residents are incredibly grateful for my work and gave me a smile. I wish I could do more for them than just vaccinate them, but at least it’s a start.
-Lorena
Working for the next year
Today we also had to clean up our office, where we got the computers ready, and give them back to the city. We cleaned up relatively quickly. However, we realized that we still have a lot of small material and we would like to leave it here on the island. So we inventoried everything so that we know exactly what we have in Skyros and don’t have to take it with us next year. We also gave some of the material to the computer supervisor of the city. He is a passionate hobbyist and can use some small material like screws, cables and so on.
Nico and Giulia went up to the taekwondo club before dinner. They told us during our first visit that they would buy a new loudspeaker for the gym with the next money they would get. So we ordered a speaker the same day and now we were able to give it to them. Since they did not know that we had done this, the joy was great. They told us that we had to come every year and that next year we should come and train with them.
-Simon and Nico
