Hamogelo Radio- Telemarathon in Corfu Town!
On December 15th the whole of Corfu will come together for a unique purpose, to help build a house full of smiles (‘hamogela’ in Greek). ‘A home for life’ is the motto for a series of events leading up to a radio-telemarathon which will hopefully raise the money needed to build it.
Three years ago Leonidas and Ioanna Minoglou donated a house, which will give a new life to the children who need it most, to ‘Hamogelo tou Pediou’, the leading Greek charity for children in need of a home. Work has been since carried out to restore it. As material and labour costs are high, ‘Hamogelo’ need all the help they can get in order to complete the necessary works. They hope to raise enough money through carefully planned events to succeed in handing over a new home to their children.
The house is situated in Ag. Ioannis, near the Aqualand Waterpark and is surrounded by a large piece of land with olive trees, gardens and plenty of space for the children to enjoy.
The plan is to house the older children there, the teenagers who are a few steps away from becoming independent responsible adults. With the care of well-trained staff they will be living more independently there, and the house in Magoulades, which Niséa visited recently, will be free to house some younger children who are waiting for luck to smile down at them!
The carefully estimated cost of the work needed is 100,000 euros and that is the goal of the radio-telemarathon.
‘Hamogelo’ and Anemos Events, a volunteer group of event organisers who are handling the planning and organisation of the entire cause, have planned some lead-up evening events. The past three months have been busy ones party-wise, as many bars and clubs have joined in with fund-raising evenings held most nights of the week.
An impressive 150 different organisations, companies and institutions have joined forces to support this cause, along with local government bodies, education authorities, the police, fire service and health services all collaborating in order to make this event a success. Also, an awe-inspiringly large number of volunteers will be supporting the largest event ever to be held in the country with the exception of Athens.
The events began on October 3rd and will continue until December 13th. Clubs, bars and radio stations are working together, advertising each other’s planned events and raising money for this admirable purpose. On 15th November, many of Corfu Town’s shops were supplied with clay collecting jars made and donated by Feax Ceramics, in which money will be collected for the Charity. There is an added incentive, if one were needed, as the shop that raises the most funds will win a trip for two to the island of Paxos courtesy of Air Sea Lines. Every measure has been taken, we are assured, that the money handling procedures are completely secure and legal under the supervision of lawyers and finance experts. On December 10th, a concert in tribute of Giorgos Xatzinasions, the famous and talented Greek composer, will be held at the Municipal (Dimotico) Theatre in Corfu Town. If the last two years’ concerts are anything to go by this is a must-see for all Greek music lovers. National and local TV stations will broadcast and well known artists and personalities will participate in a live show, a concert full of love and support for the children who need it most, ‘Hamogelo’s’ children. One thousand people are working unpaid for this event and 300 volunteers are also available to assist throughout the day. This is an event not to be missed, but there will also be others as the fundraising efforts will be continuing. Further information can be found by visiting the official website at http://www.stegizois.gr or by visiting Facebook, Hi5, MySpace, Google Groups. Anyone wishing to offer help for the house itself or for the children, whether financially, with materials or a useful trade, ‘Hamogelo’ would love to hear from you. Any offer, however small it may seem, is much valued. So, if you have a means to help or require further information, please contact: Mr I Tsobanakis of ‘Hamogelo tou pediou’ tel. 26630 51755, or email: Kerkyra1@hamogelo.gr; or Mr G Zohios of ‘Anemos Events’ email: AnemosEvents@gmail.com. We will be meeting up with the ‘Hamogelo’ team after their challenge has hopefully been met and will find out how it went for them, what their feelings and impressions were and their plans for the completion of their second house in Corfu. We would like to send our warmest wishes and thanks to Mr Iordanis Tsobanakis and his wife Margarita of ‘Hamogelo’ who took time out from their busy schedule to talk to Niséa.
Monday December 15th is a day to be marked in everyone’s diary. The largest gathering of people ever to be seen in Corfu promises to be entertained in a most spectacular way. A banner 670 metres long and 1,5 metres high will be drawn and coloured in by 10,000 visiting school children from all around the island. The banner will be stretched out along the top half of the square (Pano Plateia). Will it be the longest banner of the world, and gain a place in the record books ? That remains to be seen and decided by the experts visiting from London. All we can say is that 10 local radio stations and others too will be transmitting from lunchtime onwards.
