by: Brigid Rowlings, LHI’s Communications Director with Coline, Director of Logistics and Distributions at the LHI Community Center
Volunteers build a pergola at the LHI Community Center. The pergola now houses the Community Center’s Arts and Recreation programs.
When is a pergola not just a pergola? When it is built at the LHI Community Center in Serres, Greece!
When the LHI Community Center’s Arts and Recreation program reopened in the wake of the Covid pandemic, it got busy quickly! Staff and volunteers realized that the program was so popular, it needed its own space, and, given the heat of Greek summers, one with some shade. A pergola seemed the ideal solution.
Fortunately, Jaron, LHI’s Director of Monitoring and Evaluation, and at least a jack of the pergola-building trade, was headed to the LHI Community Center for a visit. Impressively, Jaron and a team of volunteers including both our visiting volunteers and community volunteers (people who use Community Center services) built the entire pergola in just five days. Even more impressive was the impact the project had on many of the LHI Community Center beneficiaries.
The pergola project drew people to the LHI Community Center, some for the first time. Some people took a moment to contribute to the work by holding a ladder or carrying some wood.
For one young Yazidi woman, the pergola helped her find her “thing.” This young woman is a regular at the LHI Community Center, but Coline, one of our visiting volunteers, had struggled to engage her in activities that appeal to many other teenage girls. Coline tried to get her to come to spa day, and the young woman replied, “You know that isn’t my thing.” Inspiration hit Coline, and she told the young woman, “Come with me!”
Coline led her to the pergola construction site and they asked how she could help. One of the builders handed the young woman a drill and showed her how to use it. Her eyes lit up. Now THIS was her “thing.” The young woman spent the rest of the day joyfully installing the pergola’s floorboards.
Once this young woman mastered the art of the drill, there was no stopping her!
When is a pergola not just a pergola? When it brings a community together. When it provides space for people far from home to create and play. When it gives a young woman a passion, a purpose, and a sense of pride.