Thisfunktional Magazine Issue 04 | Page 4

P AGE 03 Finding hope: Eli Kay Writer Looking through a sea of comments and news reports about the economic recession and how that has taken a toll in the social and business environment in Europe. I struggle to find encouraging articles. It seems that the idea in today’s community is “every man for himself,” and we all tend to think that way. But fortunately I found some people that don’t. Global Hope Network International is an organization dedicated to visiting hidden villages where some of the world’s poorest people live and where assistance never reaches. Their mission is to transform those places by providing health care, coach them to develop the area with their resources and bring targeted Disaster Relief in places hit by war or natural disasters. They bring people closer and ry to provide a better future with their efforts. I was invited to volunteer with the organization’s newest division in Greece. Global Hope in collaboration with AMG International use mobile medical centres to drive to isolated villages where old Muslim communities live. Communities like The Pomaklar, a Greek/Muslim community at the north of Greece, that was isolated during the war and left away from civilization ae able to receive help. The women were forced to cultivate the land in order to eat, while their husbands found work in Albania, Bulgaria or Germany, leaving the women to care for the children. The Saturday I volunteered, we left at 5am in order to meet with the group. The group included a leader, me and a dentist, all volunteers. The leader was driving the mobile medical centre and was in charge of the relationship with the people in the villages. I would help the dentist sterilize her equipment and keep a list of the people who visited for dental check. It was raining heavily all morning but the people still lined up outside the van. The people wanted to meet us and talk to us. It is wonderful to see how simple life makes people nicer and more compassionate. After the experience, I was very happy I saw the another side to Europe. A selfless and compassionate one. I wish the whole world was like that. Global Ho www.globa Donation p http://globa