Since 2016 · Kypseli, Athens
We walk the next mile with you.
An Athens foundation building structured pathways out of displacement — Greek classes, vocational placements, legal help, and a caseworker who knows your name.
- 1,847language certifications since 2017
- 1,194people placed into contract work
- 88¢of every euro goes to programmes
Programmes
Six tracks, one caseworker per student
We do not run drop-in sessions. People who come through the door at Acharnon 142 are matched to one of six structured programmes within their first two appointments — each with measurable milestones, a named lead, and a referral path into the next stage of life.
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01
Language School
Greek and English from A0 to B2, evening and Saturday schedules, OPA-aligned curriculum.
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02
Vocational Bridge
Six-month placements in hospitality, healthcare auxiliary, logistics, and retail with 38 employer partners.
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03
Legal Navigation Clinic
Asylum, family reunification, work permits, and tenancy disputes, with three solicitors on weekly rotation.
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04
Children’s Learning Hub
After-school Greek and maths support for ages 6–14, holiday camps, and school-enrolment help.
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05
Women’s Circle
A women-only weekly meeting with free childcare on-site and rotating workshops on health, finance, and digital skills.
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06
Mental Health Companion
Trauma-informed listening sessions and onward referrals, in Greek, English, Farsi, Arabic, and French.
Our story
We started with twenty-eight people and a kettle
Eleni Markatou had been giving informal Greek lessons in Eleonas since the spring of 2015, on plastic tables borrowed from the medical NGO next door. Hossein Karimi had arrived from Tehran a few months earlier and was translating Farsi to broken Greek for the same medical team.
They started co-teaching in September 2015. By March 2016 the foundation was registered and the Acharnon ground floor was leased. Today the team is forty-one people across two locations, with a 2025 operating budget of €1.94 million — all of it published line by line.
Impact
Audited. Published. Verifiable.
Numbers from our 2025 annual report — every figure traceable to a named caseworker.
- 1,847
- adults passed an official Greek-language certification (A2, B1, B2) since 2017
- 1,194
- placed into formal contract employment since 2017
- 217
- adults employed in 2025 alone — the highest single-year figure
- 38
- employer partners across hospitality, healthcare auxiliary, logistics, and retail
- 41%
- of staff and 37% of the board are programme alumni
- 88¢
- of every euro raised goes directly to programme delivery
Voices
What our students and partners say
Five voices, real names, shared with consent.
I came to HopeFoundation in October 2023 with no Greek and a denied asylum decision. Maria-Christina at the Legal Clinic walked me through the appeal in three meetings. Eleni placed me in the A2 evening class in November. In June 2025 I passed B1, and in September I started my nursing assistant placement. They never told me what to want. They asked, then they helped me get there.
Forty-two children from our school go to the Children’s Learning Hub on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Their reading-age scores have moved an average of 1.4 grades in one academic year. The Hub coordinator sends us a written progress note for each child every term. Nothing about this is ad hoc.
I was a barber in Damascus. When I arrived in Athens I tried to keep cutting hair, but it did not work. Kweku from the Vocational Bridge sat with me for two hours and we listed everything I knew how to do. He suggested kitchen work. Six months later I was on a contract. I send my mother a photo of my payslip every month.
I have given €60 a month for almost eight years. The foundation publishes its accounts. They write me one paper letter a year, in February, with a photograph and a one-page summary of what my year of giving paid for. Last year it paid for one student’s full year of B1 classes plus their exam fee.
I do four hours a week at the Clinic, and I have done it since 2019. The case-management software is properly built, the file is ready when the client walks in, the interpreter is booked. I can practise my profession at the standard I expect of myself. That is rare in pro bono work.
Transparency
Where every euro went in 2025
Of the €1.94 million we received in 2025, this is where it went. Audited by Grant Thornton Greece and published in full each March.
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Programmes€1.71m
88.1% Teacher salaries are the largest single line at €612,000.
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Fundraising€128k
6.6% Printing, postage, and two part-time posts.
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Administration€102k
5.3% Audit, governance, and software.
Accredited and audited
- Charity Navigator 4-Star
- Civil Society Register #ΣΩΜ.41203
- GIVE Greece member
- GuideStar Platinum
- Grant Thornton audited
- GDPR-compliant donor data
Get involved
Three hours, three euros, or three skills — anything works
We need teachers, lawyers, drivers, listeners, accountants, and friends. We need money. We need beds, jackets, schoolbooks, and laptops.
Volunteer
Current open roles, a written application, and a three-week induction. Teachers, lawyers, drivers, listeners, and accountants.
Donate
One-off, monthly, sponsor-a-student, or a legacy gift. Every amount is traceable to a line in the annual report.
Partner
Corporate partnerships, school twinning, and in-kind drop-off on Tuesdays and Saturdays.
Journal
From the field
Long-form posts, written by the people doing the work.
Independent coverage
- Kathimerini
- Lifo
- Athens Voice
- The Press Project
- BBC Europe
- Le Monde
Visit
Acharnon 142, Kypseli
- Main centreAcharnon 142, Kypseli, 11251 Athens
- Children’s HubSpaton 38, Pagrati, 11635 Athens
- ReceptionMonday–Friday 09:00–18:00, Saturday 10:00–14:00
- Phone+30 210 514 8260
- Email[email protected]
Twelve emails a year, no urgency theatre
One end-of-month update, plus a longer letter in January, June, and September. We never sell, share, or rent your address.