"PRAKSIS": A New Non-Governmental Organization Dedicated to Assist Immigrants and Refugees in Greece

Today, eight years after this emergency intervention, MSF Greece is proud to announce that a new organization has been created to oversee these projects. The name of the new organization is PRAKSIS. (In Greek the initials stand for Projects of Development, Social Support and Medical Cooperation.) Among other activities PRAKSIS is running healthcare centers, providing legal and social counseling and carrying out health-awareness campaigns.

MSF Greece after long discussions amongst its members believes that these projects are no longer a priority. "In 1996 and in subsequent years there was a real emergency about getting basic services to a large number of immigrants and refugees in Greece. This population in need was being exploited and their fundamental human rights were not being addressed. We intervened to alleviate this suffering," explained Kostas Papaioannou, President MSF Greece.

Following the 2004 MSF General Assembly a decision was made to assist in the creation of an entity that could oversee these programs for as long as they were needed. MSF Greece has assisted financially and administratively in the creation of PRAKSIS. Today PRAKSIS is a totally independent organization with no formal ties to MSF-Gr.

"While preserving its right to intervene to assist populations in distress anywhere in the world, including inside of Greece if the need arises, today we are steering our human and financial resources towards our missions in Africa, Central Asia and wherever a humanitarian crisis emerges", concluded K. Papaioannou.

More information (in Greek) on PRAKSIS: www.ndp.gr