“We all know and talk about children on the streets who can´t smile. They can´t smile because they don´t have money, toys, or food and some of them don´t even have parents. Just think and leave all the talking behind: let´s unite and give whatever we can to poor children, Albanians, white and black. They are all children and deserve a smile. This association will be called: «The Smile of the Child». Let´s all come together to help, together we can accomplish it.”
(From founder Andreas’ diary, November 1995)
These words written by 10-year-old Andreas Yannopoulos, while suffering from terminal cancer, expressed his wish to establish an organisation that would protect children irrespective of their color, race, religion, nationality, or socio-economic status. Andreas is no longer with us, but his words continue to inspire us to help children and ensure that each child has a reason to smile.
“The Smile of the Child” was registered as a non-profit, non-governmental organization in January 1996. Since then the Association has expanded to meet the serious problems of children in-need living in Greece. Through its varied services, “The Smile of the Child” protects children’s rights and provides them with emotional and psychological support. Children, who suffer from health problems or any type of abuse, neglect or abandonment, are within the organization’s mandate.
OUR MANDATE
– Recognized Greek Centre for Missing & Exploited Children to combat the phenomenon of missing and exploited children in Greece, operating in Athens since 1995.
– As of October 2010, The Southeastern European Centre for Missing and Exploited Children, has been inaugurated, a joint initiative of the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children (ICMEC) and “The Smile of the Child”. The Centre serves as a regional coordinating body aimed at comprehensively addressing and combating child victimization in all its forms in the Southeastern European region.
– National Helpline for Children SOS 1056, a toll free line operating 24-hours a day, seven days a week, and 116000 European Hotline for Missing Children.
– At the request of the Greek National Police, activation of AMBER ALERT HELLAS with the cooperation of 55 partners from public and private bodies.
– Immediate intervention in cases where children are in danger through the use of the organisation’s vehicles.
– 10 Community Homes throughout Greece to provide shelter and safety to a total of 283 children. The children’s ages range from infancy to young adults. Custody and guardianship are granted to the organization through a court order in cases where the authorities have deemed the child’s home environment inappropriate.
Our homes are modeled after a healthy Greek family. Thus, we continue to support and care for our children until they become independent, productive members of our community. Life in our community homes resembles a traditional home. Children are cared for by trained childcare workers and attend the local public schools. Each child’s personality and interests are nurtured. Children are offered unconditional support, attention and love.
– Daily Care for children whose family environment cannot meet their daily needs and puts them at risk due to neglect. Their families are also provided with material & psychological support and guidance.
– Counselling for children and parents.
– Material support of economically marginalized children throughout Greece.
– Medical Aid & support of children with serious medical and health conditions.
– Volunteer drives for blood, blood platelets and bone marrow donations.
– Modern ambulances throughout Greece – inducted into the services of EKAB (National First Aid Programme) – for the safe transportation of newborns, infants and children.
– Preventative medical and dental programmes with the Association’s medical vehicles and equipment in schools throughout Greece.
– Creative Occupation in Children’s Hospitals in Athens, Thessaloniki and Patra.
– Creative Occupation for children in airports, the Athens airport “Eleftherios Venizelos” and the Thessaloniki airport “Macedonia”.
OUR REFERENCES
After 15 years of activity, “The Smile of the Child” has become the reference point for children, parents and governmental departments because of our success in providing solutions to the hundreds of problems that children face. We maintain our direct contact with children and work with all appropriate agencies in order to ensure that we never have to say “no” to a child that needs us.
Funding of the Organization is provided through donations and contributions of private individuals and private enterprises and through our fund-raising events. The Organization’s financial records are audited by the Chartered Accounting firm PRICE WATERHOUSE COOPERS. Because of the ever-increasing needs of children that “The Smile of the Child” is called upon to meet, even the smallest donation is invaluable to the organization.
Due to many services the Association provides to an ever-increasing number of children, its international collaborations and its consistently low administrative expenses, “The Smile of the Child” has won the public’s trust and respect. In surveys conducted by independent marketing companies and published in the Greek press, “The Smile of the Child” consistently ranked amongst one of the top positions for public trust and recognition within its sector of operations.
ONGOING EUROPEAN PROJECTS
European Child Alert Automated System (ECAAS)
In 2010 our organization took a major initiative in order to introduce, establish and make operational the European Child Alert Automated System, aimed to foster cross border cooperation in transnational cases of missing children.
The ECAAS is a project funded by the Child Abduction Alert Program of the European Commission (DG Justice). “The Smile of the Child” is Project Leader in the process of ECASS implementation, working in cooperation with the Greek, Cypriot and Portuguese police and NGOs from Italy (Il Telefono Azzurro) and Portugal (IAC SOS).
Europe’s Antibullying Campaign (E-ABC)
“The Smile of the Child” is currently running the E-ABC Project (European Antibullying Campaign Project), funded by EU DAPHNE III Programme.
Main goal of the project is to develop a large informative campaign and raise awareness against bullying phenomena in school, family and in a wider context – social, natural and electronic environment. Lead by “The Smile of the Child”, the campaign will be conducted in six European countries in a time framework of two years, in a partnership with cooperating NGOs from Bulgaria, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia.
116000 European Network
The 116000 is the European Hotline Number for Missing Children which was created in 2007 upon the initiative of the European umbrella organization “Missing Children Europe”. The legal framework for 116000 hotline implementation is the Directive 2002/21/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 March 2002 on a common regulatory framework for electronic communications networks and services (the Framework Directive), followed by European Commission Decision 2007/116/EC of 15 February 2007 on reserving the national numbering range beginning with ‘116’ for harmonized numbers for harmonized services of social value.
Assigned in November 2007 by Greek National Regulatory Authority to operate the 116000 European Hotline Number for Missing Children nationally, “The Smile of the Child» is considered as one of the pioneers of 116000 pan-European effort. Up to date, the 116000 hotline is operating in 12 Member States: Belgium, Denmark, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Spain and Holland and the objective is to extend its implementation across Europe.
The promotion of further European expansion of 116000 line is the subject of the project «116000 European Network».
Balkan Epidemiological Study on Child Abuse and Neglect
Initiated by Institute of Child Health, Department of Mental Health and Social Welfare, Centre for the Study and Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect-Greece, run under the auspices of the European Commission and co-funded by DG Research in the context of FP7.
Cooperation, the “Balkan Epidemiological Study on Child Abuse and Neglect” (BECAN) project began on September 2009 , with the duration period of three years.
BECAN is an epidemiological study aimed to map child abuse and neglect (CAN) in the general population of 11-year-old to 16-year-old children, both those in schools and those that have been dropped out from school, as well as to indentify the number of reported/detected cases of CAN being recorded in at least eight Balkan countries. “The Smile of the Child “ is a key factor for the implementation of BECAN in Greece.
