A high school student was ‘forced’ to do homework outdoors under a street lamp because the family lives in extreme poverty and the Public Power Corporation had cut the electricity supply due to unpaid bills.
Both parents are unemployed and they cannot afford much to offer to their three daughters who study in elementary, gymnasium and high school..
The father was receiving allowance for “invalidity” but when also this few hundreds of euro were cut by the state, the family remained with zero income.
At a time, the mother turned to the local church that provides daily some 50 people with food. Yet, the mother does not receive the food regularly, local media report.
Also the school where the three girls go is aware of the dramatic economic situation of the family, as well as the social services of the municipality.
However, it seems that there is no organized institutional support for families or for children in poverty.
The family in Agria, Magnisia Prefecture, manages to survive only due to the aid they receive by neighbors: shoes and clothes. Occasionally, they give support with cash, a kind of “emergency loans” so that the family comes along.
A former councilor of the local municipality was shocked to see the oldest daughter doing her homework outdoors and thus in the middle of the winter and complained to the social services.
You’ll be happy to know, as a follow up, that this family has now been taken care of. More details on ethessalia.gr
The public shaming effected change – but this is only change for ONE family and not for the many others in that area.