We felt motivated to be back in Our Big Home after four months of lockdown, although we only had two weeks together before the summer closure. The team was eagerly awaiting this time to arrive, but it certainly took some time for the warmth and friendly atmosphere to find its place again. It took time for the Welcomers to welcome again in the same way, for the parents to feel the familiarity of the place and at ease, and for the children to interact with each other. There was a deep concern about feeling secure regarding Covid-19 on top of everything else that could not be disregarded. The residue of the circumstances of the pandemic that we are experiencing were, and still are, very present.
Overall we had very few visitors over those two weeks. However, the high temperature of the summer period in Greece may also play a part in the limited visitors, or for their arrival at 7pm (one hour before closing time). According to our new measures we were only able to welcome up to five children at a time, therefore there was, somehow, a sense that the children were being watched by the adults, and we suspected that the ratio of children to Welcomers may have influenced the atmosphere of the place. One initial thought was that by limiting the number of families, and having some restrictions on socialization and ways of interacting in general, effected the social aspect of our work. The visitors arrived hesitantly at the beginning, but as soon as they started to communicate, to realize the stability of the place, and to remember the toys, they seemed more relaxed. The small children were trying to reconnect – with the place, the Welcomers, between themselves, as well as with the elderly visitors. Some parents wanted to share their concerns with the Welcomers, while at the same time the children were trying to interact with them. There was a need for parents to talk about the lockdown, their difficulties, and the changes that have emerged. At the same time they expressed their happiness about our reopening. One mother told us how she often checked social media for our announcements to see when we would open, and it seemed as if Our Big Home had a protective role for her.
From our side, we were content to see how the children had grown – for example, some of them used to crawl and now they were walking around and exploring the place by themselves. Others came to say goodbye as they turned four years old. This by itself shows the importance of the closure for both the children and the parents, and the impact that this place can have on the family and the child’s development. Furthermore, a number of families visited us for the first time during this reopening period, which may bode well for September onwards.
Until now, we used to reopen in the first week of September, normally after the summer holidays. As it is now highly recommended to stay in quarantine for a week after returning from a holiday abroad, we decided to have our first team meeting on the first Sunday of the month, and to open Our Big Home the week after. However, there is an uncertainty around the circumstances of the pandemic and whether we will need to reconsider our measures once again.
We keep our desire for Our Big Home despite the difficulties, as we make the effort to reconnect and readjust to a new reality.
To be continued…
Written by the team at To Megalo Mas Spiti
The Welcomers Project 