A House for displaced women.
AMINA is the SAO Community- and Empowerment Centre for women refugees in Athens. At AMINA we support and encourage displaced women in taking their next steps towards integration. AMINA Centre is welcoming especially most vulnerable, disabled and old women – with or without children. Now please help the women taking their fate in their own hands again.
SAO was born out of necessity and created from practically nothing. It started with a private initiative by Raquel Herzog who went to Lesvos as a volunteer in December 2015, after having seen the picture of Aylan Kurdi, the little boy drown in the sea at the shore of Lesvos Island. In February 2016 she founded SAO. In 2017 we focused entirely on women and the three programs BASHIRA, AMINA and BACK ON TRACK.
These are the three pillars of SAO: two women centres (run as day-care-centres) and a study program. In other words: we provide immediate assistance at Bashira Community- and Empowerment Centre for women who are stuck at Moria dentention camp on Lesvos; continuing assistance at Amina Community- and Empowerment-Centre for women who have made it to the Greek mainland and are waiting in Athens for their definitive admission to Greece or for family reunification in another European country. Forward-looking we work with the study program Back on Track so that the women who had to interrupt their education because of the flight can finish their studies in the country which has definitely admitted them.
SAO started small and has grown – from a private initiative to an association, from an association to a NGO and from a NGO to relief organisation. We are eight business- and professional women on the Executive Board, all of us working voluntarily, also our manager: Raquel Herzog, Marina Villa, Ursula Hess, Claudia Weber, Claudia Colic, Nic Kleiber, Simone Inversini and Christine Loriol. Also, Raffaella Pearce (Assistant to the Management), Marianne Läderach (Projectmanager Crowdfunding) and Sophia Ding (Program manager Back on Track) support us unsalaried.
And this is, why we do it: We are all privileged. We have mothers, grandmothers and maybe also daughters or sisters. We are aunt, godfather, friend or girlfriend, grandpa, father, brother or son. We – women and men – lead a good life in Switzerland and are well networked and connected with many other privileged people. We are committed to women and children on the run who had to leave everything behind. This is our contribution. Who, if not us?
Our guets at the opening ceremony. 
And this is it! Our AMINA Centre in the middle of Athens. 
AMINA by night. 
The AMINA Centre has two buildings. 
The house is well prepared and ready. 
There is always someone doing her laundry. 
Our beloved washing machines on the backside of the bar. 
At the bar the women can have a tea and talk while doing their laundry. 
Volunteers renovated and prepared AMINA carefully. 
The making of AMINA logo on the wall inside the house. 
And up we go to the second floor... 
...and there it is: a real, beautiful classroom. We are so proud of it!
Working towards integration.
Displaced women, who will stay in Greece for a long time or even forever, are actively supported in their process of integration: with acces to important information, Greek and English lessons, workshops and also support in legal, health care and psychological matters.
With your contribution we can finance among others: our translators, laguage teachers and psychologists, the complete operating of the house and the fair wages we pay to our fantastic employees on the ground. We are extremely careful with our financial means, nevertheless there are also costs for background work. With your contribution you may for example provide enough school material, sugar, tea and biscuits. And we are in urgent need of more sewing machines and fabrics, painting material (canvases, oil and water paint, charcoal, coloured pencils, paper, brushes), knitting and crochet needles, wool, threads and beads, pampers and sanitary towels, blankets, children and baby clothes. Whenever possible, we do not transport goods across Europe but buy them at Greek people’s shops in Athens – with exceptions, e.g. when we were given a complete classroom interior.
Empowerment comes easy when we meet and talk. 
Our four sewing machines are much welcomed by the women. 
The sewing corner was a hit from day one. 
With a little help from a friend... always better! 
The women appreciate being able to have other women caring for other women's babies. 
They love to be active and have their babies near them. 
Encouragement and empowerment by messages of love and friendship. 
The AMINA Centre was filled with live and activity from the beginning. 
Tee, sugar and biscuits are one of our very important offers. 
The house shall look like if it was the house of a dear friend. 
To our surprise: Yoga classes are much loved. 
And sometimes they simply have to do something for calming down and getting more patient.
With a little help from our Friends – and from YOU!
AMINA is well set up and connected, led by qualified women, and it has been in great demand since it’s first day of operation. Now AMINA needs to gain momentum in terms of money to get into full swing. We can make a huge step further with your help.
Thank you to everybody who is helping SAO and AMINA - especially our «Friends of SAO»: David Allemann, Dead Milly, Regula Esposito v/o Helga Schneider, Peter Gamma und HAUTE, Isabela Gygax, Meta Hildebrand, Christopher Hux and his colleagues from the Zurich Opera house chorus, Markus Imhoof and Frenetic Film Distribution, Monica Kissling, Clifford Lilley, Roman Kilchsberger and Bernhard Russi. They all contribute gifts for this crowdfunding or are performing at our charity matinee at the MOODS Jazz Club on Sunday November 18 (register via link below, please!)
We love you all!
Meta Hildebrand is offering you a lunch together with 10 other guests. SAO founder Raquel Herzog will be with you and answering all your questions. Much appreciated, dear Meta! www.restaurant-lechef.ch 
Astrologer Monica Kissling v/o «Madame Etoile» will have an extra look at the stars for you. Merci, Madame Etoile! www.madameetoile.ch 
Roman Kilchsperger is a well know TV and Radioshow host, he will play the Swiss card game «Jass» with you. Thank you Roman, so cool! 
Stilyst Clifford Lilley will give you an extra coaching session. Thank you, Sir! www.clifford-lilley.com 
Isabela Gygax will design and sew a bespoke pair of trousers, a shirt or a skirt. We are so pleased! Thank you. www.isabelagygax.com 
Have an exclusive look behind the scenes of ON running and chose a pair of shoes. www.on-running.com 
Join us for a drink at the exclusive Club Restaurant HAUTE in Zurich. Thank you very much, Peter Gamma and Gamma Catering. www.haute.ch 
Regula Esposito will be on stage for our SAO charity matinee at Jazz Club MOODS and singing two songs as «Helga Schneider». Hell yeah! Great. www.helgaschneider.ch 
«Dead Milly» will rock the stage for our SAO charity matinee at Jazz Club MOODS and give you one of their new EPs. Thanks a lot! www.deadmilly.ch 
Christopher Hux and his colleagues of the Opera Chorus Zurich will perform for our SAO charity matinee at Jazz Club MOODS. You are so sweet - thank you! 
Filmmaker Markus Imhoof and his distributor Frenetic gave SAO 20 DVDs of his new documentary «Eldorado». Thank you for your solidarity! www.markus-imhoof.ch 
A little bit of Greek sun, sent into your kitchen with this special olive oil, produced by a women's farmer cooperative on Lesvos. 
A sign of friendship, made with love for you by the women of AMINA Centre. 
The scent of AMINA - olive oil soap from the market near AMINA Centre for you. 