"Despite everything, now I am fully independent, and I am proud of that".
Jerreh, 21 years old, Gambia
Jerreh was forced to flee Gambia and traveled through Turkey before arriving on the island of Samos, where he spent five months in a refugee camp. Eventually, he was transferred to one of The HOME Project shelters for teenage boys in Athens.
“The sea was the most difficult part”, he remembers. “And before that, being packed into a car with no ventilation, like bags of rice. We could hardly breathe”.
Arriving at the shelter marked a very different chapter. After months of living in a container in a refugee camp, Jerreh found himself in a house in Athens, surrounded by other young people and a team that was there around the clock.
“It was amazing”, he says. “Sometimes when I think about it, I still get very emotional. They literally did everything they could to support me. They treated everybody equally. I am very grateful”.
What stayed with him most was having people he could turn to. “They are good listeners. They are open. If you have a problem, you can go and talk to them”.
Gradually, Jerreh began building a life in Athens. He attended classes, went to the gym and played football with other young people in the neighborhood. On Saturdays, he joined the Youth to Youth program at ACS Athens, where he practiced English, played football and basketball, and met local peers. “Meeting people and spending time with people from different backgrounds was really interesting. I was very happy”, he says. “Through all these experiences, I made some good friends. Some of them I still keep in touch with today”.
Language, however, remained one of his biggest challenges. Arriving midway through the academic year at 17 made entering formal education difficult, so he attended part-time classes through a partner organization for about a year. At the shelter, interpreters and other young people helped him communicate when needed. “Learning Greek was the most difficult thing for me, and it is still challenging”, he admits.
When Jerreh turned 18, he moved into one of The HOME Project transitional homes for young adults. With the organization’s support, he also began working at a sculpture workshop, learning how to create statues. Nearly three years later, he is still there.
“I really love it”, he emphasizes. “It gives me the opportunity to express my creativity and imagination”. Getting there requires a commute of around an hour and a half each way, but for Jerreh, the work is worth it. “It’s very far. But I like the job”.
As his own confidence at work grew, an opportunity arose for someone else. When the workshop needed another employee, Jerreh recommended a young person he knew from The HOME Project. Today, they work there together.
That instinct to pass an opportunity forward is also part of how Jerreh imagines his future. He wants to continue developing his skills, become a professional in his field and, one day, open his own sculpture workshop where he can employ other young people.
For now, what the job has given him is something he values deeply: independence.
“I can do things by myself. I can buy clothes, buy food, and get whatever I need without asking anyone for help”, he says. “Despite everything, now I am fully independent, and I am proud of that”.
When he thinks about young people arriving in Greece today, Jerreh’s advice comes from his own experience: “Listen to the people who are trying to support you, respect them, take the opportunities available to you and keep moving forward”.