Discover Top Posts Tagged with #hopecafe

#hopecafe #hopecafepondicherry #pondicherry (at Hope cafe) https://www.instagram.com/p/CaTui4ILBKW/?utm_medium=tumblr

#hopecafe #hopecafepondicherry #pondicherry

A portrait with daughter @dharmika_gokul in Pondicherry... #pondicherrydiaries🌴 #pondicherry #hopecafe #hopecafepondicherry #portrait #portraitpage #portraitmood #portraitphotography #portraits #shotoniphone #shotoniphone11 #gokulkrishnaa #gokulkrishnaactor #daddysgirl😘 #dadanddaughter #dadslife #portraiture #portrait_shot https://www.instagram.com/p/CMWCx07DdCj/?igshid=uqyxjwcgorvi

#pondicherrydiaries🌴#pondicherry #hopecafe #hopecafepondicherry #portrait #portraitpage #portraitmood #portraitphotography #portraits #shotoniphone #shotoniphone11 #gokulkrishnaa #gokulkrishnaactor #daddysgirl😘#dadanddaughter #dadslife #portraiture #portrait_shot

My heart is in Greece! Miss you, little brother. I hope it won't be long until we are together again! ❤️ (Even if you are very cheeky about my hair styles 😉) _________________________________ #rami #princerami #hopecafe #athens @hopecafeathens #love #lovealways

#rami #hopecafe #princerami #athens #love #lovealways

Our First Day at Hope Cafe

Hi everyone!

Jackie and I had our first day at the Hope Cafe on Friday. Normal hours for the cafe are 11-5, but its currently Ramadan so due to fasting the cafe is open from 12 to about 1030. We went into work around 2 and met all the volunteers who showed us the ropes. Everyone was kind, and it was fascinating to meet people from all over the world. We met volunteers from France, England, Spain, and Syria among others.

We began by handing out toiletries. The way the cafe works is that a person comes in and their first time in the cafe, they give their name, their travel documents, the amount of people in their family and make an appointment to come back to the cafe for an interview. Because everything has been so busy appointments were only really available in 2-3 weeks. Then, if they need toiletries, we made bags of toothbrushes, soap, toothpaste, feminine products, shampoo, deodorant, and diapers, formula, and baby wipes if they had babies. When they come back for their interview, they sit with a volunteer and a translator and tell their story. Many families are given food packs, which last them a week. After their interview they have a clothing appointment, where they go to the top floor of the cafe and pick out an outfit to take home. Adults get one and babies get three. Everyone was friendly, and it felt nice to be genuinely smiled at. In the United States if you make eye contact with a stranger you usually get one of those tight lipped awkward smiles or a strange look (at least on the east coast). The children played and babbled with anyone that they could get the attention of.

We sorted some clothing and organized the basement while we played with a little girl. Her mom and baby brother were upstairs in the interview and she had a lot of energy. We were sorting puzzles, books, and toys and as we took things out she’d play with them and make sure to put them back. We were offering her different toys and books, and she chose one book to learn how to write and read english, which I found so interesting. She went upstairs to ask her mom if she could keep it, and came back down with half a sleeve of chocolate chip cookies. She smiled at us and offered us the cookies probably three times. Generosity is so important to her culture, and this experience truly touched me. She was probably 7, left her home country and had essentially nothing, I mean we were giving her family food so they wouldn’t be hungry, and she was offering what she had to us. It was such a pure thing to do.

After organizing we took a break to eat. We found a really cool turkish restaurant and had chicken gyros (they only cost us 2 euro!). It was delicious. I’m pretty sure I had a dream about that tzatziki sauce.

Back to the Cafe and the craziness began. Jackie and and I had to run to the produce man down the street and get 10 euros worth of cucumbers and 10 euros worth of tomatoes for a salad. We had no idea how much that was, and we walked out with 4 full plastic bags of produce. Everyone pitched in in the kitchen, one of the translators was chopping veggies for the salad while Jackie and I divvied it up into containers for the families to pick up. The salad was tomato, cucumber, bell pepper, lemon juice, herbs, and olive oil. It looked so good. The chefs prepared baked chicken with spices, huge vats of rice, and something called fatteh, which is ripped up pieces of flatbread layered with chickpeas and strained yogurt. It’s topped with olive oil, cumin, and red pepper flakes. We handed out over 200 meals to families sized 2 people to 8 people. We ended up running out of containers, and after we fed all the registered families we served meals on plates and anyone hungry just sat outside and ate at the cafe. After dishes and cleaning everything, we left the cafe at 11:30 pm. We went back to the turkish restaurant with everyone to recap the day. Because all the volunteers are from different countries, we had the most fascinating conversation about each person’s individual experience in their own country regarding the refugee crisis. It was definitely the coolest international political conversation I’ve had.

We will be working 12-7 tomorrow, and we’ll check back in then!

Also, the cafe runs on donations and is in serious need of really anything, but here are things we are out of:

-shampoo, soap, deodorant, diapers (any, but specifically sizes 3 and up), formula, baby wipes, and summer clothing.

The best way to donate is by parcel monkey, and the address to ship to is Hope Cafe, 136-138 drosopoulou, kipseli, athens, 11256-7.

If you want to donate money, here is the link to do that. https://wcmrefugees.wordpress.com/how-to-donate/

Best,

Nina and Jackie

#ramadan #hopecafe #refugees

Meet Chef Tony & Ann Lancaster of Hope Cafe & Catering, and long time Door of Hope supporters! They donate food & resources, sponsor our events, and give jobs to our families. We are so grateful for them and wanted to publicly say thank you! Join us in thanking Hope Cafe by contacting them for all your catering needs! There food is top notch and they have a menu for all occasions, from weddings to picnics. Let's support local businesses that give back and invest in our community! #endfamilyhomelessness #doorofhopepasadena #hopecafe (at Hope Cafe and Catering at Kilroy's)

#endfamilyhomelessness #doorofhopepasadena #hopecafe