Ms. R.M. is a refugee from the Congo. This is her story:
My name is R. I am 33 years old and I am from Congo. I left my country in 2018 to seek a peaceful life away from violence. After I went to Turkey I took a boat to Samos, where I stayed in the camp for about two months. While on the island I felt scared and alone. That’s when I was informed about A step Forward and transferred to the hostel in Athens.
I spend most of my day at the hostel and even though I know it is a temporary residence, it feels like home. I live in the room with another girl from Cameroon, with whom I talk and listen to music from our homeland together.
Something I’ve been missing, and I’ve always wanted to have the opportunity to do, is some kind of sporting activity that keeps me moving and gives me energy during the day.
Every week we have meetings with the staff and all the women of the hostel, where I expressed my wish there and it came true! Social Services along with the hostel coordinator organized Yoga classes with a female personal trainer where she will come every week to give us a class. I feel quite happy. It’s nice to be taken care of.
What I would like to have in my life is security! I want to feel safe with the people I have around me, feel safe in the place I live and out on the street. I want to be able to express myself freely without fearing for my life. At A step Forward I found the help and safety I have been looking for all these years.
Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)