Dear friend and reader,

Our organization for persons with disabilities “Dikaioma sti Zoi” or in English translation, “The right to life”, was founded in 2005 by parents and friends of people with disabilities and is located in Heraklion, the biggest city on the island of Crete, in Greece.

Our goal is to help cover the multiple needs of persons with disabilities (children and adults) taking into account the lack of public infrastructures in our country and because we believe that we (families and friends of these persons) should actively participate in making their lives better and worth .We also want to give them the best quality of life (physically, emotionally and socially).

The Association “The right to life” is a voluntary, nongovernmental, non-profit organization certified for social care by the Greek Ministry of Work and Social Care/Directory of Providence, largely depended on the generosity of the local communities and corporations (donations). The organization is  member of the PanHellenic federal organization of parents of persons with disabilities (P.O.S.G.A.meA),  member of “Volunteers Society “ of the Ministry of Health and member of the network of social services in Crete “Zefxis”.  In addition “The right to life” is represented at the National Confederation of Disabled Persons (ESAmeA.)

Activities

1. In 2005 we started recording the persons with disabilities in Heraklion city. We have created an important data base of information in order to classify and cover the needs of the disabled people of our area of interest.

2. We frequently organize educational seminars and conferences with topics about people with disability.

3. We officially present the problems that disabled people confront in the Media (radio, TV, local press) at the National Social Services giving information and suggestions about the problems that people with disabilities are facing.

  4. Since 2006, we have been organizing rehabilitation programs such as therapeutic swimming for kids with various forms of disabilities.

 5. We have made our website, where we publish information about issues that concern people with disabilities. (www.dikaiomastizoi.gr)

6. We have been offering medical equipment to poor people with disabilities (for gratis).

7. We have offered one of our buildings to the Municipality of Malevizi in order to house the Center of Creative Action for children with disabilities.

8. We are in the process of constructing six houses for permanent and supporting living and one new Center of Rehabilitation and Daily Care for persons with disabilities.

9. In 2008 we started the construction of our first Rehabilitation and Day Care Center for persons with disabilities “Dikaioma sti Zoi” which is a 600 s.m. building, located at Ano Kalessa, in a 8.000 s.m. area,  in  Heraklion, Crete. On Monday 3 October 2011 the Center started providing services of medical monitoring, rehabilitation and day care.

The center caters to the needs of 40 children with various disabilities (autism, mental retardation and physical disabilities). The day program lasts from 6.45 to 14.45 and the evening program schedule lasts from 15.45 to 21.15 Monday to Friday. The persons are transported from and to the Center with two special buses and always with a driver and an assistant driver qualified at First Aid.

Our Center employs: Administration manager (1), Scientific manager (1), Secretary (2), Neuropediatricians (2),child psychiatrist (1),develop mentalist (1),Collaborator doctors of variable expertise, social workers (2), physiotherapists (4), occupational therapists (4), speech therapists (5), psychologists (5), assistant nurses (3), support staff, economist, drivers and assistant-drivers (4), special education teachers (3), special education trainers (1),general staff (3) and some volunteers.

The Center has fixed costs such as salaries, buses petrol, communication costs, educational materials, consumables etc. Our annual budget for the Center of Rehabilitation, Recovery Day Care for  persons with disabilities “The Right to Life” reaches 500.000€ in order to maintain safe and high quality services. We hope that 60% of our budget will be covered by Europian and National resources.  Unfortunately, and obviously under the existing crucial economic conditions Greece is going through, we have a dramatical reduction in our financial income but we are willing not to give up even if we had to do a pause on the 31st of  December 2015. Our target is to restart on 1st of July 2016.

Our vision is to offer our children the opportunity to ameliorate their skills and try making them relatively autonomous in a safe surrounding when we won’t be around to protect them.

We suggest you visit our website and understand our effort, before taking the decision to support us financially. You may contact us for any further information. Any offer is valuable and welcome. Every offer will be receipted.

We hope that if we manage to overcome the next two difficult years we shall be able to continue our effort with Europian, National and local findings in the future.

You are invited to come and visit us any time. Our staff and mostly our children will persuade you that the cause is well-worth it.

Bank account for donations:

Name of Bank: Eurobank EFG

ΙΒΑΝ: GR68 0260 3300 0001 8020 0360 021

Swift: EFGBGRAA

Beneficiary Bank Name: Dikaioma sti Zoi

For any kind of additional information please contact us.

Our best regards,

The President of the Board                     

Pavlos Simantirakis

The Secretary of the Board

Voutoufianakis Spyros