From Egypt to Athens and from there, higher up!

Born and raised in Egypt, Yonathan came to Greece a year ago with his sister and mother. They came to live with his father, who had already emigrated to Greece some years ago to find work and secure a better future for him and his family.

Yonathan, together with his parents and sister, live in the area of Agios Panteleimon and are a very close-knit family. He speaks fondly of his older sister Lydia, with whom he does everything together: school, studying and strolls in the city.

The two children wake up every day at 7 am to get ready and take the bus to Elliniko, where their school is.

Yonathan goes to Secondary school, the Intercultural Lyceum of Elliniko, and he loves going to school both for the lessons as well as for the friends he has made!

Waking up in the morning is a bit of a struggle but also has its perks:

 "We have formed a very nice group at school, there are a lot of Egyptian kids and we play a lot of volleyball, although I admit I need some improvement! But apart from the company, I really like the lessons my teachers deliver," says Yonathan.

He likes math most of all, followed by Greek language lessons, which he says he prefers to English.

Yonathan has big dreams for when he grows up:

"I want to travel a lot and become a pilot! I really like planes and I'm curious to explore and fly them."

For the past nine months, Yonathan has been attending classes after school at the ELIX Homework and Creative Activities Centre in the centre of Athens, as part of the "All Children in Education" programme.

These are learning support classes for Greek and Mathematics and he also enjoys the crafts and creative activities he does, as part of the classes.

The course he likes most is Job Readiness, which he attends at the centre, with ELIX social worker Savvas Kalokairinos. He enjoys discussing about jobs and careers and finds Mr. Savvas' work interesting!

Yonathan is making a great effort to be able to participate in the Panhellenic exams next year, with the aim of achieving his dream.

As for life in Athens and his free time, he says:

"We live in the centre of Athens, which I love, and I love going for walks in the areas of Acropolis, Syntagma and the parks of Thiseion," adding jokingly: 

"There's no traffic in Athens, in Egypt the streets are chaos!"

The "All Children in Education" programme is a UNICEF initiative in collaboration with the Ministry of Migration and Asylum, co-funded by the European Union , and implemented in collaboration with a number of partners, including ELIX.