by Oliver Smith
An officer at the Cambridge Heath Salvation Army centre has gone to Thessaloniki, Greece, as part of the organisation’s relief operations in the crisis-hit country. George Pap, who has been training at the Cambridge Heath centre to become a full-time Salvation Army officer, left Hackney on Friday to start three weeks of voluntary work in Greece.
Describing the conditions in Thessaloniki, Mr Pap said: “They have community markets, where poor people can claim vouchers that they can swap at particular shops [for supplies]. The supplies, everything that the shops are giving, are now based on the goodwill of a few orthodox priests. “If you go into surgery, they ask you to bring your own bandages with you. I think you get a very different picture as a tourist,” he added.
The Salvation Army’s operations in Greece include programmes to supply meals to families in the very worst medical and financial circumstances, as well as those who cannot provide for newborn children. Phil Howe, the recently appointed officer in charge at Cambridge Heath, said: “At our events [in Hackney] we’re now asking people to give financially to fund our work in Greece.”
The Salvation Army started its Greek operations in 2007 and currently operates out of Athens and Thessaloniki. It has increased its work there over the last three years during the Eurozone crisis.
