KEEPING JG OFF THE STREETS

KEEPING JG OFF THE STREETS ~ CHANGES AND TRANSPARENCY

We had been successfully crowdfunding to keep a roof over JG's head since December 2019. However, we recently discovered that GoFundMe do not support funding from a Greek address. This forced us to close the GFM and switch platforms to one that accepts a UK bank account along with a Greek address. Big thanks to GoGetFunding for accepting us! All monies from the GFM fundraiser have now been recovered... eventually! Overall funding from the old GFM made a total of £836. As of today (01/04/20) we have provided rent and essentials for JG to the value of £611, leaving us with a balance of £225, enough for one more month's rent with a bit left over!

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WHO IS JG?

JG (not his real name for his own safety) is a young 24 year old Moroccan man who had been living on the streets of Athens since he arrived to Greece when he was just 19 years old. He was forced to leave Morocco when he was a teenager in fear of his life. The reason for that fear remains and he can never return. He is continuously fighting for his right to stay in the country he now calls 'home'. He's bright and well educated, already speaking three languages fluently, and is currently attending classes to make Greek his fourth language. He's also making use of his time to grow his talent for art as well as studying web development for his future career. In other words, he's doing everything humanly possible to make a life for himself.

HOW IT ALL BEGAN

It was December and the weather in Athens had become very cold and wet, especially during the long dark nights spent sleeping on the streets. JG became very sick and, with no access to doctors or medicines, it became a serious threat to his health. With the help of some amazing friends and fellow volunteers we managed to rent a hotel room for him for a couple of weeks and provided food and medicines to aid his recovery. Hence the crowdfunding was born and, thanks to some amazingly generous people, JG hasn't had to sleep on the streets again since.

HOW AM I INVOLVED?

I first came across JG back in January 2016, when he asked for some advice through our Facebook refugee support group, and I have been supporting him wherever possible ever since. For more than four years we have spoken with each other several times a week and I have come to care for him very much. I have nothing but respect and admiration for this incredibly resilient young man and can't bear to see him suffering so much and for so long. He's an absolute inspiration to us all.

PLEASE WILL YOU HELP?

Together we can make a real difference to this young man's life. In all my years of continuous volunteering (since July 2014) I have only ever used PayPal to ask financial help for refugees. I have never opened a crowdfunding page before and that alone should tell you how much JG and his problems mean to me. I hope that, by doing this, I can reach out to more kind and generous people than previously. Please donate if you can, and understand that every little helps, no amount is too small. I appreciate that not everyone is in a position to be able to donate, no matter how much they would like to (I'm in that position oh so often!), however, even a share to your own social media pages will go a long way to help us give JG the chance of a normal life that everyone deserves to have. I truly don't have the words to tell you how very much gratitude there would be for your help.

TOGETHER WE WILL CHANGE A LIFE - THANK YOU SO MUCH