“This is a place where people will help you, support you, and make you feel that you belong”.Asim, 22 years old, Pakistan
When Asim arrived in Greece alone at the age of 15, everything felt unfamiliar. After leaving Pakistan in late 2018, he traveled through Turkey before reaching Thessaloniki and eventually Athens. Following a short stay with a friend, he was stopped by the police and transferred to a refugee camp for unaccompanied refugee children. Soon after, he was referred to The HOME Project.
“It was the first time I had seen a place like that”, he recalls. “I was in a different country, surrounded by people I didn't know. It was very difficult at first”. Although everything felt overwhelming, it didn't take long for him to realize that he had arrived somewhere special. For the first time, he had a safe place to stay, people looking after him, and the opportunity to begin thinking about what his future might look like.
The biggest challenge, however, was finding a way to communicate. Asim spoke neither Greek nor English and, for more than a year, relied almost entirely on the shelter's interpreter to understand what was happening around him. School felt overwhelming, and there were days when he wanted to give up altogether. “I didn’t want to go to school because I didn’t understand anything”, he admits.
Instead of letting him give up, the shelter educator, together with the rest of the team, encouraged him to keep going. Day after day, they reminded him that learning a new language would take time, but that every lesson, every school day, and every new word would bring him one step closer to achieving his goals. “They kept telling me, ‘Go to school. Little by little you will learn’. In the end, they were right”, he says.
As the months passed, life gradually found its rhythm. School became part of his daily routine, alongside English lessons, cricket and basketball practice, walks around Athens, and movie nights with the other children in the shelter. He also enjoyed contributing to everyday life in the house, whether helping prepare meals, painting a room, or volunteering to lend a hand whenever something needed to be done. “I liked being involved”, he emphasizes. “I wanted to help wherever I could”.
Gradually, the shelter stopped feeling like somewhere temporary. It became home. “When I arrived in Athens, I didn't have anyone. At The HOME Project, I felt like I had found a second family. There were people who genuinely cared about me”.
Today, the same place that welcomed Asim as a frightened teenager is where he gets to support other children navigating challenges similar to his own. After graduating from school, he enrolled in an online Computer Science degree, moved into one of The HOME Project's transitional homes for young adults, and nine months ago joined the team as a night-shift caregiver. His own experience shapes the way he approaches every child. “I understand what the children need because I was once in the same position. Even though we don't always speak the same language, we still find a way to communicate”, he highlights.
He remembers what it felt like to arrive alone, not knowing the language or what would come next. Today, he tries to be the person he once needed, someone who listens, understands, and offers reassurance during the most uncertain moments. He also sees firsthand how much that matters. “One boy often tells me, ‘I want to become like you’. I tell him that he can, but he has to go to school, study, and keep trying”.
Alongside work and university, Asim continues to set new goals for himself. He hopes to learn Arabic so he can communicate even better with the children he looks after. “I like learning languages”, he says. “I believe learning Arabic will help me support the children even better”.
Looking back, Asim sees just how much his life has changed. He has completed school, learned two new languages, enrolled at university, and found meaningful work supporting other young people rebuilding their lives. But when asked what The HOME Project means to him, his answer isn't about education or employment. “For me, it's my second home. If you arrive in a new country completely alone, this is a place where people will help you, support you, and make you feel that you belong”.