Through their eyes
community shop
25 Nov 2022
/ 20:20
CORFU. Three people who are using the community organisation ΄New Horizons΄ community shop and food bank talk to Enimerosi.
The community shop has been a valuable support for the 73-year-old M. M. and his wife for years. Without a pension and with only a small €90 allowance from his country, he receives the necessities from social welfare every two weeks.
He receives flour, pulses, tomato paste and other basic necessities, which he says he carefully divides into portions so that they will last until the next food distribution in 15 days. "We are here out of need. The community shop is a great help for us", the 73-year-old, who has lived in Corfu for 32 years, told Enimerosi.
Although he worked as a builder, he was not able to secure a pension right, so he relied on social welfare services for his survival.
"I am also eligible for the Fund for European Aid to the most Deprived. We have been waiting for a year for the programme to start again, but it still has not. It is difficult for us to cope with everyday life. And we make sure to manage the food we receive in the best way possible so that it will be enough," he said.
Ten years
The 75-year-old M. A. has also been receiving a food package from the community shop for more than ten years. Always smiling, she first says good morning to the people of the shop who she considers her guardian angels. She does not only visit the place when distributions are being carried out, but on other days as well just to talk to those who have supported her for so many years. "The behaviour of the people here is very touching. They don't make you feel bad that you are coming to ask for something," she said and continued, "If you don't have money to go to the supermarket, won't you come here?".
Nevertheless, she faces life with optimism. "I don't mean to say that life is hard, we make it hard. I make sure that everything I get from here is enough for the next 15 days, there is no other way. I come every Thursday when they give the food. I get some allowances and whenever I get a call from the Red Cross I go there too to get some help," she said.
Mrs. A. V. has been going to the food kitchen for the last two years, in order to take food for her and her two children every day. Even though she is working, the €600 is not enough to cover the needs of the single-parent family. "Our rent alone is €400. I cannot cope with my daily life. This help is important because it provides us with food daily. We don't have money to cook at home and consume electricity. I go to the supermarket only for the absolute necessities," she said. As for the future, she believes that the situation will be the same if high prices and low salaries do not change.
He receives flour, pulses, tomato paste and other basic necessities, which he says he carefully divides into portions so that they will last until the next food distribution in 15 days. "We are here out of need. The community shop is a great help for us", the 73-year-old, who has lived in Corfu for 32 years, told Enimerosi.
Although he worked as a builder, he was not able to secure a pension right, so he relied on social welfare services for his survival.
"I am also eligible for the Fund for European Aid to the most Deprived. We have been waiting for a year for the programme to start again, but it still has not. It is difficult for us to cope with everyday life. And we make sure to manage the food we receive in the best way possible so that it will be enough," he said.
Ten years
The 75-year-old M. A. has also been receiving a food package from the community shop for more than ten years. Always smiling, she first says good morning to the people of the shop who she considers her guardian angels. She does not only visit the place when distributions are being carried out, but on other days as well just to talk to those who have supported her for so many years. "The behaviour of the people here is very touching. They don't make you feel bad that you are coming to ask for something," she said and continued, "If you don't have money to go to the supermarket, won't you come here?".
Nevertheless, she faces life with optimism. "I don't mean to say that life is hard, we make it hard. I make sure that everything I get from here is enough for the next 15 days, there is no other way. I come every Thursday when they give the food. I get some allowances and whenever I get a call from the Red Cross I go there too to get some help," she said.
Mrs. A. V. has been going to the food kitchen for the last two years, in order to take food for her and her two children every day. Even though she is working, the €600 is not enough to cover the needs of the single-parent family. "Our rent alone is €400. I cannot cope with my daily life. This help is important because it provides us with food daily. We don't have money to cook at home and consume electricity. I go to the supermarket only for the absolute necessities," she said. As for the future, she believes that the situation will be the same if high prices and low salaries do not change.
