THERE’S A place in central Nicosia that has transformed the lives of the Totoro family from Congo. Every school day afternoon Willy and Dachy’s three children are picked up from school and taken to the Multicultural Care Centre for Nicosia Children where they are given lunch, helped with their homework and then provided with a wide range of creative activities before being taken home in the evening. And it’s all free.
“It is helping us a lot! Before, it was difficult for me and my wife to work at the same time. Now this Centre is taking the children until around six and my wife can go to her job when the kids are at school and come back before them,” said Willy, father of Trisca, nine, Gracia, six, and Wilson, five.
The Multicultural Care Centre opened its doors in July 2008 with one major aim: to help immigrant mothers enter the labour market by providing day care for their children. An important added benefit is that the centre helps those children integrate into Cypriot society by providing the extra Greek instruction many of them so desperately need to function properly in their public schools.
“At the centre they are giving the children computer lessons and helping them with their homework. This is very good because my wife and I don’t know Greek very well so sometimes the homework is difficult even for us. It is all very well!” said Willy.
At present about 20 families are benefiting from the centre, part of a beautifully renovated building near the Famagusta Gate. Eligibility to join the programme is open to children aged 5-12, whose mothers hold a nationality other than Cypriot, have a work permit and live permanently in Nicosia. The centre is jointly funded by Nicosia municipality and the EU. The children attending the programme come from a variety of countries, including Russia, Georgia, Armenia, Bulgaria, Philippines, Iraq, Romania and Congo.
“The programme began in order to help immigrant mothers to work and to integrate into Cypriot society. A foreign mother in Cyprus has no place to leave her kid while she works. People who come to us face the problem of where to leave their child so that it is taken care of but it is also occupied in a creative way,” said Nikos Sozos, the supervisor of the centre.
It all begins at around 1:15pm when the bus picks up the children from their schools. They are taken to the centre where they are given lunch and then there is a teacher to help them with their school homework. Later on the children can engage in various activities such as chess, computer lessons, gymnastics, dance and music, all taught by qualified teachers. There are also organised educational visits around the city. At around 17:30 the children are each taken home.
“In addition there are also lessons on the environment, ecology, how to respect and realise the need to protect the environment. We want to promote principles such as respecting one another, understanding each other and accepting one another,” said Sozos.
“The basic aim of the programme is the socialisation of the children and their integration into the wider Cypriot society.”
Talking to the children there, it was evident they were all enjoying themselves. They were learning while at the same time having fun. They all said they had made friends there and that the teachers were very good and helpful.
One of the special features of the centre is that it also gives the children a chance to share aspects of their own cultures. “We have classes teaching aspects of Cypriot traditions but at the same time giving them a chance to express their own traditions. For example we will shortly begin Cypriot dance classes and so children from, for example, Russia can show us their traditional dances. This is part of learning to accept and respect each other,” Sozos said.
During the summer the centre also functioned as a summer school and was a life-saver for many children who had nowhere else to go during those long, hot days.
At its present level of funding the centre can only cater for about 20 children. “The needs are much greater than what we can provide,” said the centre’s director, Stavroula Georgopoulou.
“There is an enormous response to the programme and there is a need for the programme to continue,” said Sozos.
Unfortunately, EU sponsorship lasts only until November and the Municipality is currently looking for other sponsors for the programme to continue.
“The Municipality has decided to continue its support for the programme. It believes in the usefulness of the programme. Now it’s a matter of securing funding,” said Sozos.
“It’s all a matter of funding,” said Georgopoulou. “We hope that the programme will continue in the future and will be enriched!”
The Multicultural Care Centre is part of a project entitled “Extension and Improvement of Units and Services Assisting Children, Old People, Handicapped and Other Dependent Persons”.
This project also involves a social day centre for the elderly. In the same building as the centre there is a large dining room and a living room for the elderly to get together and socialise. Funds are again drawn both from the EU and the municipality. The old people’s care centre will be officially opened by President Christofias on Friday, September 19.
What else is on offer for Nicosia’s youth?
Integration is also part of the aim of two other youth programmes sponsored by the municipality. Unlike the centre, however, the ‘Youth Polycentre’ and the Toy-Library of the Youth Board of Nicosia are not exclusive to the children of immigrants but open to all young people of Nicosia irrespective of religion or ethnicity.
Children, students and even working youth, aged 6-35, can participate in a variety of educational programmes and creative activities, such as computer lessons, music, dance, theatre, art and Turkish language classes, offered all year round at the ‘Youth Polycentre’ free of charge. The programme runs during the academic year everyday beginning at 14:30 until 21:00 and also during Saturday morning.
The Centre’s Director, Maria Kazamia, stressed that “our aim is to include all kinds of minority groups who live in Nicosia, and we have many of them attending”.
“There are many children of immigrants. They attend public schools so they do know Greek, even if their parents may not know the language that well,” she said.
As for the Toy-Library, this opened in Nicosia in May 2004 to cater for children aged 4-12. It is an organised space within the Achilleon Municipal Library in the old city which operates as a play centre (from 5-8pm on school days) under the aid and supervision of qualified staff. Children are encouraged to play creatively, to borrow toys, and to interact with other children, while also learning to respect and accept diversity. There are also organised events such as puppet-shows.
“We have quite a lot of kids coming in especially during the summer. It is an open-access area and we have a substantial response – particularly from children in the area who don’t have a lot of other afternoon activities.”
Multicultural Care Centre for Nicosia Children, part of the Multifunctional Centre near Famagusta Gate. Tel: 22797589.
Nicosia Youth Polycentre, 14 Tombazi Street, Lykavitos, Nicosia. Tel: 22877510.
Nicosia Toy-Library is within the Achilleon Library premises, Xanthi Xenierou Street. Tel: 22402619 and 22376401.
