Tag Archives: Agios Antonios

by | June 22, 2012 · 2:06 pm

PeacePlayers Cyprus work with The Ministry of Education and the Nautical Organization of Ammohostos

PeacePlayers coaches and staff worked with the Ministry of Education as they watched over a variety of sports and activities.

This past week PeacePlayers Cyprus worked in cooperation with the Ministry of Education in Cyprus in the city of Limassol to help run a day filled with water sports and fun with the Nautical Organization of Ammohostos. The event hosted 140 5th and 6th grade school children from the 4th and 18th schools of Agios Antonios.  Starting in the Fall of 2012 the Ministry of Education will begin a relationship with PeacePlayers and sponsor practices in Limassol twice a week for the children in order to allow PPI coaches to provide structure and basketball training to the schools.

The children of the 4th and 18th schools of Agios Antonios take to the high seas!

The 4th and 18thschools of Agios Anotnios are part of the Zones of Educational Priority (ZEP).  The ZEP are programs established by The Ministry of Education and Culture in order to “promote tolerance and dialogue in order to eliminate stereotypes through education.”  According to The Ministry of Education and Culture in Cyprus the ZEP serves to “promote tolerance and dialogue” and was established “in order to eliminate stereotypes through education.” Many schools in the ZEP host children who have grown up in difficult environments and have faced economic and social adversity.  A relationship between PeacePlayers, the Ministry of Education in Cyprus, and the children of the schools of Agios Antonios is a step towards helping to alleviate the hardships and bring about social change.

Children of the 4th and 18th Agios Antonios schools hard at work on the water.

The day was filled with activities on the beach and in the water.  The children were given opportunities to learn to sail, row, kayak, play football, volleyball, and water polo.  School teachers from the schools assisted the PPI staff to make the day a series of smooth transitions as assigned teams of kids moved from one sport station to the next.  The children covered in sand and soaked in water ran back and forth from sailboat to canoe and from volleyball court to soccer field.  Though the day did not see PeacePlayer’s bread and butter, the poetic sport of basketball, with the help of the Ministry of Education is became obvious that any sports were beneficial and fun for those participating.  As one looked up and down the seemingly endless stretch of sand and blue water our group of kids were some of the few people who had sails, oars, and kayaks.  A wonderful opportunity, the day proved to be a unique experience that is just a first step towards fostering a positive relationship with the schools of Agios Antonios.

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by | April 15, 2011 · 9:00 am

PPI – Cyprus Paints a Mural!

The new PeacePlayers International - Cyprus mural at the English School of Nicosia.

This week, PPI Fellow Adam Hirsch describes how PPI – CY came to paint its second mural at the English School of Nicosia.

For some of the kids, it was their first time holding a brush.

This past week, PeacePlayers International – Cyprus completed its second mural at the English School of Nicosia. PPI-CY completed its first mural at the Agios Antonios primary school in the inner city of Limassol last June. After seeing the success of that mural project, the English School quickly requested its own PeacePlayers mural. The large blank wall near the entrance of the school was the perfect location for a colorful painting. The wall was also facing the outdoor basketball courts where PPI-CY holds its weekly practices. I went back to the drawing room to come up with a new design. As always, it is important that the design of the mural reflect the values of PeacePlayers: Teamwork, Basketball, Peace and Fun.

Greek- and Turkish-Cypriot boys and girls collaborated on this group project.

After coming up with a concept I felt the kids could easily assist with, we began to paint. It was great to see the children pick up the brushes and begin splattering different colors on the wall. For some of the kids, this was their first opportunity to paint, and I was delighted to see their enthusiasm to try something new. I greatly enjoyed showing them how to blend colors by mixing the wet paint and going back and forth over and over again until the transitions become smooth.

Some kids had fun painting themselves too.

With all the kids running around hastily dipping brushes in cans of paint, it was hard to remember that these were Turkish-Cypriot and Greek-Cypriot children that lived on opposite sides of a generation long conflict. As in every PeacePlayers event, we had the kids working together, putting past prejudices behind them in order to complete a common goal. Of course, some of the kids were having a little too much fun and began painting themselves; but, I guess that is what a mural project with kids is all about. In the end, it was a great opportunity for the kids to try something new and show their amazing potential. Now every time we hold a PeacePlayers basketball practice at the English School, we will have this wonderful mural to look at.

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by | February 25, 2011 · 2:25 pm

PeacePlayers International – Cyprus’ Day of Sports for Agios Antonios!

This past week PPI-CY provided 160 children from the Agios Antonios Schools in Limassol with a day of fun and learning about different sports. The Agios Antonios 4th and 18th Elementary Schools are part of the “Zone for Educational Priority” or ZEP program that PPI-CY has been working with over the last year. The kids at the Agios Antonios Schools come from the city of Limassol, and many of the families are multicultural and disadvantaged.

Climbing through the gymnastics pit.

This summer, the schools came to PPI-CY  with a problem. The children of the Agios Antonios 4th and 18th schools never have a chance to interact. While the 4th school is mostly Greek-Cypriot, the 18th school is much more multicultural, with Roma children and children of mixed backgrounds. After leaving elementary school, the children go on to attend the same high school, but, because they have never met, many conflicts occur.

Two participants get dressed to demonstrate Tae Kwon Do.

So PPI – CY began organizing two large field trips where the children of the schools can come together for some positive interaction. The first was this past week, when the entire 5th and 6th grades of the school met at a giant sports center just outside the city. Once there, they were broken into groups with children from both schools, and walked to different sport stations for a 30 minute interactive preview of that particular sport.

PPI – CY got several sports federations to volunteer their mornings to entertain the kids. The sports included volleyball, squash, judo, Tae Kwon Do, weightlifting, and there was even a PeacePlayers station, where the kids played teamwork games like the human knot and follow the leader. It was a great event for all the kids and we look forward to seeing them again soon!

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by | January 28, 2011 · 1:44 pm

A Little Rain No Problem for PPI – Cyprus

Kids from the Agios Antonios 4th School practicing on a sunny day.

This past Thursday PPI-Cyprus was heading to Limassol for its weekly practice with the 5th and 6th graders of the Agios Antonios 4th school when it started to rain. Unfortunately, the basketball courts are outside, and as the rain began to fall harder, it looked like practice might have to be canceled. Thinking quickly, we called the school and arranged to have the kids meet in the school auditorium. When we arrived there 20 minutes later, we found 100 kids sitting on plastic chairs in rows crammed together, bursting with energy to go outside and play in the rain.

Kids love watching the "Half Court Shot"

That is when PPI-CY went into action. First PPI Fellow Gunnar told all the children to stand up and led them through a game of “Simon Says” with his whistle. Pretty soon all the kids were clapping their hands, slapping their knees, throwing their hands in the air and yelling “Wooooo!” Next PPI-CY Fellow Adam set up a projector to show the kids some of PPI-CY’s short films such as the Famagusta Twinning, PPI-CY Visits Peristerona, and the classic Half Court Shot (the kids’ favorite).

The kids drew a Mummy for "Egypt"

Finally PPI-CY Managing Director Marina divided the kids into groups and handed out paper and pens. Each group was then given a folded piece of paper with a country or continent written on it. The groups were then instructed to take 10 minutes to draw pictures and have the other children guess what country that group was representing.

The goal of the game was to show the kids what stereotypes they had of other countries. When everyone had finished, the kids came to the front of the auditorium and presented their drawings: penguins for Antarctica, traditional Greek clothes for Greece, a Turkish flag for Turkey, a mummy for Egypt, and the capital building and a bomb for the U.S.

Finally, before the kids left we asked them to fill out a PPI-CY survey with questions about their views on conflict and Cyprus. This is part of a new measurement and evaluation program for PPI-CY, so that we can see if children’s attitude towards conflict and their comfort level with children of different ethnicities increases while being part of PeacePlayers.

We were interested but not surprised when we found that of the 87 kids surveyed, nearly 60% would not feel comfortable crossing to the northern Turkish-Cypriot side of the island. It is sad to see that even at the age of 10 and 11, these kids have fully imbued the prejudice and stereotypes that create a fear of the northern part of their island.  Over the coming months, PeacePlayers will work to help these children learn to no longer fear their peers to the north.

Finally the bell rang and the children put on their rain coats and ran home. Despite the rain, it was a great time for the kids of Agios Antonios and PeacePlayers-Cyprus.

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by | June 25, 2010 · 4:06 pm

PPI-CY Visits Agios Antonios Summer School

Children from Agios Antonios Primary Summer School playing at the beach.

This week PPI-CY is back at Agios Antonios Primary, this time for summer school. But this not the kind of summer school that most kids try to avoid. This summer school focuses on games, sports, and best of all, the beach. With a little over 50 kids in attendance the kids are bused three times each week to a nearby beach where they can play volleyball, dive off the pier, play with foam noodles, and even fish.

Back at the school, the kids are broken into groups of 10 that rotate through different stations. One of those is the PeacePlayers station, which involves some team building activities such as the human knot, dancing games, some basketball drills, and even a round of capture the flag.

A PeacePlayers participant doing a summersault into the water.

While the summer school has been a great success, the school is facing a serious problem that could result in its doors closing as soon as next year. Agios Antonios is one of five integrated public schools in all of Cyprus that are called “Zones of Educational Priority” or ZEP for short, and is located in the old part of Limassol that used to be mostly inhabited by Turkish Cypriots. When the buffer zone opened in 2003, some Turkish Cypriot families decided to return to their homes in Limassol, which had sat abandoned for over 30 years. In addition, a number of wandering Roma families that came to the north of the island from Turkey moved south. Despite some opposition, Agios Antonios decided to allow the Roma and the Turkish-Cypriot children into their school.

Since that time, the number of kids at the school has dropped from 180 to just over 100. This is partly due to a shrinking population in the area as the younger generation moves away to find better job opportunities, but the Greek Cypriot families that do remain are starting to move their children to other schools. One reason is a belief that the education quality at Agios Antonios has been dropping. In general, the Turkish-Cypriot and Turkish-speaking Roma children that do attend the school have a harder time with the Greek language, and some Greek-Cypriot families think that the teachers are forced to slow the lesson plans down to accommodate these kids, at the expense of their child’s education.

The Agios Antonios kids showing off the fish they caught.

Christos, an education administrator for the district, disagrees with this assumption. He says that the education quality at Agios Antonios is just as good if not better than the other public schools in the area due to excellent teachers and small classroom sizes. He says that it is more a matter of Greek-Cypriot parents not feeling comfortable putting their kids in classrooms with Turkish Cypriots or children from other multicultural backgrounds.

No matter what the reason, the outcome could be devastating for the school. While attendance still remains half Greek-Cypriot and half Turkish-Cypriot, most of the Greek Cypriots will be graduating in the next two years, and the incoming class of 1st graders has just 8 kids, all Turkish Cypriot. If this trend continues, there will not be enough students to keep the school open.

A recently completed PeacePlayers mural at the school.

Despite this dire situation, Christos remains optimistic. He says it is up to Agios Antonios Primary to attract more kids. They have already started several new programs, including free lunches, a free after-school program and more special events, such as this summer school. This summer school provides the kids with an amazing opportunity to get out of their neighborhood, play in a stress free environment and bond with one another.

Christos says that working at Agios Antonios has changed his own opinion about the “Cyprus problem.” He has learned that only through integration can progress be made. “We need to incorporate [Turkish Cypriots] into the schools and help get them out of a cycle of social exclusion and poverty,” he says, “It is the only way change can happen.”

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by | June 11, 2010 · 3:04 pm

New PeacePlayers International – Cyprus Mural at Agios Antonios Elementary

New PeacePlayers - Cyprus mural at the Agios Antonios Elementary School in Limassol

Agios Antonios Elementary, in Limassol, is part of the Cyprus Ministry of Education’s “Zones of Educational Priority” (ZEP) program, which provides special assistance to schools of need in underprivileged areas.  Agios Antonios is a very diverse school, with children of Greek-Cypriot, Turkish-Cypriot, and Roma or “Kerbet” descent. One thing they all have in common is a working class upbringing, with very few constructive outlets available in the neighborhood after school. Teachers and administrators frequently report discipline issues, and fights are a common occurrence. This is one of the reasons PeacePlayers started a basketball program there just over a year ago – to give the kids a place to spend their time in a safe and positive way.

Adam works with one of Agios Antonios' students to finish the mural.

When I first walked into Agios Antonios Elementary School back in March, I couldn’t help but think of my old high school, Berkeley High. The same old buildings, the same over-worked teachers, the same crazy kids, and the same spray paint on the walls. At Berkeley, some schoolmates and I worked together to paint a mural on campus, the idea being to give the kids a reason to take pride in their school, to make something beautiful, and to give the kids a place to put their energy towards something positive.

With the same ideas in mind, PPI – CY recently started its own mural project with the children of Agios Antonios. The picture was inspired by the ideals of PeacePlayers – hope, peace, and of course, basketball. We had anticipated some excitement, but the children’s intense desire to help was overwhelming. We handed them some brushes and they were off, painting with ultramarine blues, alizarin crimsons and phthalo greens. After putting on some finishing touches myself, the mural was complete. The finished product was more than just something nice to look at; it was something the kids cold see everyday and be proud of, showing the world just how much potential they have if given an opportunity.

This past Thursday, after our last PeacePlayers basketball practice of the school year, we attended the school’s end of the year celebration. All of the kids were happy to see us come. They introduced us to their parents and then quickly dragged them to the courtyard to see their new mural. Although it was sad to say goodbye, in just 2 weeks we will be back to help with summer school and the organization of more art and sport programs.

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by | February 5, 2010 · 2:13 pm

Game Night in Limassol

A group of 18 kids from the new after-school program attended a EuroLeague professional basketball league game recently.

PPI-CY runs a special after-school program at the 4th Elementary School in Agios Antonios, Limassol, right next door to a high-school where PPI-CY runs two single-identity teams. This year, through a grant from the Ministry of Education, PPI-CY is operating a twice-a-week afterschool basketball program for the 5th and 6th grades of the school (boys and girls aged 11-12). The school in Agios Antonios is a mixture of Greek-Cypriot and Turkish-Cypriot children, along with kids from various other European ethnicities. It is a true melting pot.

Giannis Giannoulis, a veteran European player from Greece, received a majority of the applause from the PPI-CY participants throughout the night.

The children particpate in two practices a week learning the game of basketball through the PPI lens. Games detailing the concepts of cooperation, trust, perseverance, and reconciliation are a mainstay at each practice. For most of the participants, it is their first opportunity to learn how to play a sport on a regular basis, let alone be a part of something special like PeacePlayers International.  Practice usually begins with the children sprinting out of their classrooms as the bell rings and tackling  PPI-CY coach Efthimios Kyprianou as he waits for them after school on the playground. Efthimios is no stranger to the situation; he is a former student at the 4th Elementary School himself.

Once a month, the kids take part in a field trip to museuems, restaurants, cultural sites, other cities, and even local basketball games. At the game this past Tuesday night, AEL-Limassol (the local professional team) played hosed to Eiffel Towers from Holland. It was very easy to pick out the most excited and most supportive spectators: not the fanatical followers who were drumming and chanting organized rally cries, but instead a mixture of Cypriot schoolchildren from various backgrounds behind the south basket. It was a beautiful thing to hear, and, even if PPI-CY Fellow Rory O’Neil couldn’t hear himself think, that was ok with him. The home team won in overtime 87-85 with the kids pleading to be able to come back in the future. All in all, it was a great night for PPI-CY.

The cheering didn't stop until the final buzzer.

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by | November 25, 2009 · 1:06 pm

Extracurricular Activities In Cyprus

Teams from Iskele/Trikomo and Famagusta played a friendly match with each other last week.

The primary events during PPI – CY’s program year are it’s bi-communal events, where children from the Turkish-Cypriot and Greek-Cypriot communities meet on the basketball court. Island-wide tournaments, 3-on-3 tournaments, twinnings, or summer basketball camps are all examples of how PPI – CY brings the two communities together through the game of basketball. Without these experiences, the PPI – CY experience would not be as comprehensive and educational as it currently is.

This good ol' fashioned shot-fake seemed to work pretty well in last week's friendly match.

While these experiences are essential to the PPI – CY educational experience, there is also room for activity within each PPI – CY community. Last week, PPI – CY teams from Famagusta and Iskele/Trikomo played a friendly match between its boys teams. It was a great opportunity for two Turkish-Cypriot teams to show off their skills, and for coach Bahar Mevlit (Famagusta) and Sevki Pirlanta (Iskele/Trikomo) to demonstrate their coaching abilities in a game situation. It was great practice for everyone.  Everyone from each team got to play, and everyone walked away from the court smiling and laughing, after a good time was had by all.

Team Agios Antonios' seats were pretty close to the floor last night.

Last night, PPI – CY’s boys team from Agios Antonios, in the Greek-Cypriot town of Limassol, had the opportunity to watch Limassol’s professional basketball club, AEL, play a EuroCup game against Crotia’s Cedevita from the city of Zagreb.  While sitting courtside was cool enough, the boys were actually invited by the club to make their way onto the court to shoot around during the intermission. The home team won, and fun was had by all.

The boys were allowed to shoot around on the floor during halftime of last night's game.

Even though the global financial crisis has affected every aspect of Cypriot civil society, it has not prevented PPI – CY from still offering a great basketball experience to all of its participants. Whether its sitting courtside at EuroCup games, or playing friendly matches with fellow peace-builders from the same community, there are many aspects to the PPI – CY experience, with each one complimenting the overall goal of bringing the two communities closer through the game of basketball.

P.S. Want to take a simple action to support PeacePlayers International in Cyprus?  We’re now eligible for inclusion in the latest edition of CauseWorld, a mobile app that lets you earn “karmas” – badges backed up by donations from Citi and Kraft – for your favorite causes just by visiting your own local hangouts. Vote for PPI to be one of three new Causes included in this round. (You can find us fourth from the bottom of the list on the right.) There’s no registration required and, with just a few seconds of your time, you’ll help PPI continue to work for a peaceful future in Cyprus and other deeply divided communities around the world!

Development and Communications Associate-PPI 01-05-10

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