Speaking the willpower, the story of Mohammed

“I arrived in Greece in 2019 encountering many difficulties during my trip mainly because I could not communicate with anyone. In Korinthos Site, IOM gave me the opportunity to communicate again with the world and finally to express my thoughts that I had deep inside me since i was a child. Today, I am very happy to attend sign language classes in Korinthos Site as now I am closer than ever to make my dreams come true” said Mohammed from Gambia.

Mohammed is 33 years old and came to Greece from Gambia and the city of Baro Kunda. He lost his parents when he was very young and due to an accident, his hearing was severely damaged. As a result, Mohammed grew up with speech and hearing difficulties.

When he arrived in Greece, he was not able to communicate at all. However, his willingness to learn the sign language was strong. He was partially trained in an American type of a sign dialect which led him into social isolation and exclusion from the community.

Mohamed is now living at the open accommodation site of Korinthos and with the support of IOM Non – formal education, community engagement teams and the organization “Polyhoros Kivotos he started following sign languages courses twice a week. This effort was followed also by his friends and roommates at the site, which gave Mohammed the opportunity to communicate with his closed ones.

IOM operates in the open accommodation site of Korinthos, as the official management support (SMS) agency, with the support of the European Commission (DG HOME).