On Sunday, October 13th, Merimna organized a “Memory Day” to honor the children who are no longer with us and who received care from our Pediatric Palliative Home Care Service during their illness and at the end of their lives, or we got to know them through their parents who received support by the psychologists of our Childhood Bereavement Counselling Centre in Athens.
This day is a milestone for us, as well as for the children’s parents and loved ones, as it is a day of honour and respect for the children who have died, a day of meeting and reconnecting with families and the people of Merimna, and a day of introspection for all, about what is important in life and gives us strength and courage to carry on.
Every year, we are helped in this reflection by a symbol; this year the symbol was the “Labyrinth”. The Labyrinth, which is linked to the well-known myth of Theseus, Ariadne and Minotaur, symbolizes the ability of humans to find solutions to seemingly dead-end situations. Although linked to Greek mythology, since ancient times, the Labyrinth has been used by peoples of the West and East as a symbol of man’s journey through life and as a symbol of rebirth.
This year’s “Memory Day” was held at Zappeion Hall. We would like to express our thanks to all those who contributed to the smooth realization of the event. First of all, to the parents and relatives of the children, whose presence there gave meaning to the event and then to all the professionals who helped us with their kind offer and impeccable professionalism.
In particular:
- Mrs. Stefania Vafia – calligrapher, who wrote the names of the children in our memory album.
- Mrs. Douki Mathioudaki for the pots with the aromatic plants that were given to the parents and relatives at the end of the event.
- Our musicians Mr. Panos Redifis and Mr. Nikos Samaras, for the wonderful melodies they played for the day.
- All the Volunteers who helped in the preparation (decorating the candles and pots) and facilitated the smooth flow of the “Memory Day”.
Finally, we would like to thank the Stavros Niarchos Foundation for its valuable assistance. The event was held in the framework of the project “Support in bereavement for children and families who have experienced loss”, which is implemented thanks to the SNF Nostos x Release Athens donation programme, as part of the Global Health Initiative (GHI) of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation.
