Αθηνά Παπαχρήστου: Η συνταξιούχος αγρότισσα που δώρισε ένα ασθενοφόρο στο Μεσολόγγι (βίντεο)

Μια συνταξιούχος αγρότισσα από το Μεσολόγγι, η 85χρονη Αθηνά Παπαχρήστου, προχώρησε σε μια ιδιαίτερα συγκινητική και ουσιαστική χειρονομία, να δωρίσει ένα υπερσύγχρονο ασθενοφόρο στον τομέα ΕΚΑΒ Μεσολογγίου, το οποίο ήδη ετέθη σε επιχειρησιακή ετοιμότητα.

Από την εμπειρία της γνώριζε πόσο σημαντικό θα ήταν ένα τέτοιο όχημα καθώς όταν χρειάστηκε πολλές φορές η διακομιδή της στο νοσοκομείο της Πάτρας, συνήθως δεν υπήρχε διαθέσιμο. Η δωρεά της δεν ήταν αυτονόητη: το αγόρασε με το κομπόδεμά της μετά από πολλές δεκαετίες εργασίας.

Άρης Αντώνιου: Ο κύριος Καθηγητής και η μικρή Ρομά

Με αφορμή το ρεπορτάζ της «Κ», «Το πέταγμα της πεταλούδας», η ασθενής Π. (τα στοιχεία της υπάρχουν στη διάθεση της εφημερίδας) θυμήθηκε και μας έστειλε αυτή τη μικρή ιστορία:

Ένας ιατρός που έφυγε από τη ζωή στις αρχές της χρονιάς είχε αναβάλει το 2018 την προγραμματισμένη μου επίσκεψη ρουτίνας για μία Ρομά. Ήταν νεαρή, και όμως γινόταν μητέρα για τρίτη φορά. Αυτή η φορά, όμως, δεν ήταν σαν τις άλλες. Είχε γεννήσει, αλλά εξακολουθούσε να πονά. Αιμορραγούσε, είχε πυρετό. Ελάχιστα είχε δει τον νεογέννητο γιο της. Είχε και δύο κόρες που τις λάτρευε, όπως και το μπαμπά τους. Λαχταρούσε να του χαρίσει τον γιο που τόσο επιθυμούσε. Προσευχήθηκε στην Παναγία κι αυτή, σαν μάνα, άκουσε την προσευχή της. Όμως ένιωθε αδύναμη. Λαχταρούσε να τον κρατήσει αγκαλιά, αλλά δεν μπορούσε.

Ο άντρας της ήταν συνέχεια δίπλα της, κάτι δεν πήγαινε καλά. Αιμορραγούσε όλο και πιο πολύ τις επόμενες ημέρες. Οι γιατροί πηγαινοέρχονταν ανήσυχοι. Συνέστησαν έλεγχο με υπερήχους. Επρεπε να την πάνε στο διπλανό νοσοκομείο. Δεν ήθελε πάλι εξετάσεις, πάλι πόνο. Ας την αφήσουν ήσυχη, έχει ο Θεός. Πράγματι, είχε ο Θεός. Την εξέτασε ο κ. Καθηγητής. Ηρθε ο ίδιος εκεί, δεν άφησε κανέναν ειδικευόμενο. Το περιστατικό ήταν σοβαρό, το ίδιο κι αυτός. Συνήθως η διάγνωσή του ήταν μια εύκολη υπόθεση, όχι αυτή τη φορά.

Η 24MEDIA επιστρέφει το ασημένιο μετάλλιο της Αθήνας στην οικογένεια του Αλέξανδρου Νικολαΐδη

Η τελευταία επιθυμία του μεγάλου μας Ολυμπιονίκη Αλέξανδρου Νικολαΐδη, ο οποίος έφυγε από τη ζωή στις 14 Οκτωβρίου, μετά από γενναία μάχη με τον καρκίνο, ήταν να προσφέρει στην πατρίδα του ακόμα και μετά θάνατον.

Είχε άλλωστε επιλέξει τον δρόμο της προσφοράς σε όλη του τη ζωή.

"Τελευταία επιθυμία μου είναι, τα δύο αυτά μετάλλια(σ.σ. της Αθήνας και του Πεκίνου), να βγουν σε δημοπρασία και το ποσό που θα συγκεντρωθεί να δοθεί σε δομές για τα παιδιά που θα επιλέξει η οικογένειά μου. Αν σωθεί έστω ένα παιδί, θα αξίζει κάθε κλωτσιά που έχω φάει στο κεφάλι, κάθε κάταγμα στα πόδια μου. Αυτό είναι το αποτύπωμα που θέλω να αφήσω στην κοινωνία, αυτή είναι η κληρονομιά που θέλω να μείνει στα παιδιά μου", έγραφε στο συγκλονιστικό αποχαιρετιστήριο μήνυμά του.

«Κανένα μέρος δεν συγκρίνεται με την Ελλάδα» – Ευρωπαίοι που αγόρασαν σπίτι στη χώρα μας μοιράζονται τις εμπειρίες τους

Όλα άρχισαν μια βροχερή Τετάρτη στο Μπόρνμουθ της Αγγλίας, όταν ο τότε σύζυγός της, επιστρέφοντας από τη δουλειά, είδε στο παράθυρο ταξιδιωτικού πρακτορείου διαφήμιση για διακοπές στη Σάμο. Χωρίς να διστάσει μπήκε μέσα, αγόρασε τα αεροπορικά εισιτήρια και επέστρεψε γρήγορα στο σπίτι για να της ανακοινώσει την έκπληξη που είχε ετοιμάσει. Τι κι αν η πτήση ήταν λίγες ημέρες μετά… το «ταξίδι» που θα άλλαζε τη ζωή της είχε ήδη ξεκινήσει.

«Ονειρευόμουν να αποκτήσω ένα σπίτι στην Ελλάδα από την πρώτη μου επίσκεψη το 1987. Την επόμενη χρονιά περάσαμε τρεις εβδομάδες στη Σκιάθο, τη Σκόπελο και την Αλόννησο, και αυτό ήταν, είχα ήδη μαγευτεί», αφηγείται στην «Κ» η Βικτόρια Κόβερντον. Στη συνέχεια πούλησαν το σπίτι και περιπλανήθηκαν για 18 μήνες με μοτοποδήλατα, φορώντας τα σακίδιά τους στην πλάτη, στην ενδοχώρα, αλλά και σε πολλά νησιά. Όταν τα χρήματα τελείωσαν επέστρεψαν στην Αγγλία για δουλειά, ωστόσο κάθε καλοκαίρι έρχονταν για διακοπές.

Γιάννης Χαρούλης: Δωρεά μουσικών οργάνων σε σχολείο από χρήματα που έβγαλε ραβδίζοντας ελιές

Όργανα δώρισε στο Μουσικό Γυμνάσιο Λασιθίου ο γνωστός καλλιτέχνης Γιάννης Χαρούλης μοιράζοντας χαρά στα παιδιά του σχολείου. Μάλιστα έπαιξε και τραγούδησε μαζί τους στην αυλή.

Σύμφωνα με το cretalive.gr τα μουσικά όργανα του ζητήθηκαν και φυσικά χωρίς δεύτερη σκέψη εεκίνος τα αγόρασε και τα δώρισε στους μαθητές.

Στην ανακοίνωση του σχολείου αναφέρεται:

«Όταν ξαφνικά λαμβάνεις χθες το πρωί τηλεφώνημα από δύο συνεργάτιδες του που σε ρωτούν τι μουσικά όργανα θα θέλαμε να μας φέρει ο ίδιος προσωπικά και τους λες 3 ταμπουράδες και μια ασκομαντούρα και σήμερα το πρωί τα έχει ήδη αγοράσει. Αλλά με τα χρήματα που έβγαλε από το λάδι του, ραβδίζοντας τις ελιές με την γλυκύτατη Κατερίνα! Και ξαφνικά βλέπεις και μπαίνουν στο προαύλιο του σχολείου μας, μεταφέροντας τα 4 αυτά μουσικά όργανα, δύο φωτεινά και χαρούμενα χαμόγελα, δύο εγκάρδιες χειραψίες, μάτια ζωντανά και γεμάτα χαρά, πείτε μου, πώς γίνεται να μην τρελαθούν και τα κοπέλια μας και όλοι εμείς στο Μουσικό Γυμνάσιο!

Μεγάλη η χαρά και η τιμή να υποδεχτούμε σήμερα έναν υπέροχο καλλιτέχνη που ταξιδεύει το μυαλό και την ψυχή μας κάθε φορά που τον ακούμε, έναν απέριττο άνθρωπο που αγαπά τον τόπο του, την τέχνη του και τα κοπέλια! Γιάννη Χαρούλη, η απλότητα και η αμεσότητά σου μας κέρδισε όλους στο σχολείο!

How George Karlaftis found his way to football between Greece and Indiana

Before 2014, George Karlaftis never had football on his radar.

Growing up in Athens, Greece, his sporting plate overflowed with swimming, soccer, tennis, basketball, track and field, judo and water polo, in which Karlaftis fast-tracked as a young teen. Karlaftis fit in every arena. He has a confluence of gifts -- size, speed, confidence and drive -- that allowed him to pick any athletic endeavor and excel. But Karlaftis ultimately pivoted away from all of those sports, and toward one that rarely, if ever, came up during his childhood.

"[Football] was perceived as very dangerous, barbaric," he recalled. "A little bit of fear tactics for us not to play."

His father, Matt, an accomplished athlete in Greece who competed in track and field at the University of Miami, hoped Karlaftis and his two brothers would never participate in football. Matt's only brush with the sport had led to a traumatic head injury and surgery.

"I was scared, I never really wanted to play growing up, you know, and [in Greece], it's not really an issue," Karlaftis said.

The Good Side of Greece supports Ukraine's Armed Forces

 

To make a donation to Ukraine's Armed forces follow the instructions on the website of the National Bank of Ukraine.

Ντούσαν Ίβκοβιτς: Πέθανε ο θρυλικός προπονητής και φιλέλληνας (video)

Έφυγε από τη ζωή ο προπονητής θρύλος του Ευρωπαϊκού μπάσκετ Ντούσαν Ίβκοβιτς σε ηλικία 77 ετών. Την είδηση γνωστοποίησε η Σερβική Ομοσπονδία Μπάσκετ.

Ο «σοφός» του ευρωπαϊκού μπάσκετ νοσηλευόταν τις τελευταίες μέρες στην εντατική νοσοκομείου του Βελιγραδίου και σήμερα το πρωί η καρδιά του σταμάτησε να χτυπά.

Ο «Ντούντα» γεννήθηκε το 1943 στο Βελιγράδι και εξελίχθηκε σε κορυφαίο προπονητή, αλλά και προσωπικότητα του παγκοσμίου μπάσκετ.

Θεωρούσε την Ελλάδα δεύτερη πατρίδα του και βοήθησε όσο ελάχιστοι το ελληνικό μπάσκετ να εξελιχθεί. Είχε καθίσει στον πάγκο του Άρη (1980-1982), του ΠΑΟΚ (1991-1993), του Πανιωνίου (1994-1996), της ΑΕΚ (1999-2001) και του Ολυμπιακού (1996-1999 και 2010-2012).

"All For Blue" volunteers clean up sea at sacred Greek island of Delos

Dozens of volunteers came together over the weekend in the Aegean island of Delos to clean the sea area of rubbish.

Members of the All For Blue non-profit organization recovered from the bottom of the sea more than a ton of plastic, metal, glass and other rubbish which were separated by type to be recycled.

All For Blue, founded in 2017 by Katerina Topouzoglou, has the mission of protecting the seas and oceans through education and experiential cleanup actions.

Afksendiyos Kalangos: the Greek heart surgeon who has operated on 15,000 children for free (video)

Greek media have given Dr. Afksendiyos Kalangos many names. They have called him “the doctor of the poor,” “a saint without a halo,” “the greek heart surgeon who saves children,” “the guardian angel,” and “the doctor with the golden hands.”

But the most accurate of all the epithets should be “the greek heart surgeon who operated on 15,000 children for free.”

 

Dr. Kalangos began his career as a cardiovascular surgeon at the Geneva Medical School Hospital in Switzerland in 1993. In 1998, the philanthropic doctor founded the “Coeurs Pour Tous” (Hearts for All) foundation, and in 2002 he founded the “Kalangos Institution” for which he also serves as Chairman.

In the past ten years, he has traveled all over the world along with his medical team, performing his “art of saving the lives of children” as a Greek journalist put it. He and his crack team have traveled to a total of 25 countries, performing pro bono heart surgery on fifteen thousand children.

Greece marks Revolution’s bicentennial: 1821 - 2021

Greece today celebrates 200 years since the start of its independence war with the Ottoman Empire with parades and ceremonies attended by foreign dignitaries, though the pandemic forced officials to scale back events.

"Today the nation celebrates," Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said as the Greek flag was solemnly raised over the Acropolis in Athens.

"Two centuries ago, a handful of determined fighters in and outside Greece raised the banner of independence... with the help of their allies, they fought heroically and won their freedom," he said, ahead of events planned all over Greece and among diaspora communities overseas.

Security was tight, with 4,000 police, drones and snipers set to be deployed in Athens, a police source said. Owing to the coronavirus pandemic, no spectators are allowed to attend aside from a small number of reporters.

Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, Britain's Prince Charles and French Defence Minister Florence Parly placed wreaths at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Greece's foremost military monument, ahead of the national parade.

Britain, France and Russia were instrumental in helping Greece attain its independence in 1830 after nearly a decade of warfare against overwhelming odds.

Paul Alivisatos named next president of the University of Chicago

The University of Chicago’s Board of Trustees has named Paul Alivisatos as the University’s 14th president.

An accomplished leader in higher education and a world-renowned scientist, Alivisatos, 61, is currently executive vice chancellor and provost at the University of California, Berkeley. He is also a professor and the Samsung Distinguished Chair in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology Research in the Department of Chemistry and the former director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

Following an extensive international search, Alivisatos was elected president at a meeting of the University’s Board of Trustees on Feb. 25 and will assume his role on Sept. 1. He will succeed Robert J. Zimmer, who has served as president since 2006. Zimmer will transition into a new role as chancellor of the University on Sept. 1.

“Throughout his distinguished academic career, Paul has demonstrated the skills and imagination needed to be an inspirational leader, confront the challenges of our time and guide the University of Chicago during a period of enormous opportunity,” said Joseph Neubauer, MBA’65, chair of the University’s Board of Trustees, who led the search for a new president. “He has the vision to further elevate the University’s eminence, uphold its rich traditions and enduring values, and make an impact on higher education and the lives of University students, faculty and staff, as well as enrich the South Side community.”

How the ancient ore mines of Lavrio changed the course of Western history

When the allied Greek cities found themselves facing the invading Persian Army in 480 BC, it was an existential battle between East and West. Greece, representing all the values of the West, as we know it today, used its “wooden walls” – its ships – to face the Eastern invaders.

Many historians have dealt with the “what if” question: What would the history of humanity have looked like if the outcome of the Battle of Salamis had been different. However, history is not written with “what ifs.”

The priestess Aristonike, with her famous second oracle, pointed to the solution for the Athenians: According to Herodotus, she said, “The wooden wall will be a salvation for you and your children, it will remain impregnable.” It took Themistocles’ bright mind, however, to convince the Athenians that the “wooden wall” did not refer to the old Acropolis fortification, but their fleet.

At the time of the Battle of Salamis, democracy in Athens was less than 30 years old. A Persian victory would have had an immense cultural effect both in the West and around the world. It would have changed the course of history significantly.

To write this significant page in Greek history, more was needed than the self-abnegation of the participants and Themistocles’ brilliance. And that was luck.

One significant variable that proved decisive for the Greeks, defenders of the West against the Persians, was the discovery in 483 BC of a significant deposit of silver in Maroneia (today Kamariza, west of the town of Lavrio). Themistocles, through his “Naval Law,” convinced the Athenians to give up their share of the silver found (10 drachmas each, about half a month’s wages for a craftsman) to fund the construction of 200 triremes for a “national cause.” The 200 triremes were among the 378 fielded by all Greeks taking part in the Salamis naval battle.  

Without this “silver vein,” nothing would have been the same in this Athenian “Golden Age.” With the money from the Lavrio mines, Athens was saved.

Dimitri Neonakis: the pilot making wishes of Canadian children come true

Dimitri Neonakis, a Greek-Canadian from Messinia who lives and works in Nova Scotia, Canada, impresses all in the local community with his inspiring way of expressing his solidarity with his fellow citizens — especially the younger ones.

Following the terrorist attacks of April, 2020 in Nova Scotia, where 22 people tragically lost their lives, Neonakis wanted to find a unique way to express his solidarity with his community.

So he decided to begin creating figures in the sky with his airplane as a way to transmit symbols and messages of solidarity in the air. After these routes are depicted on a map, they show what he says are uplifting images of hope.

Following this unusual gesture, Neonakis decided to take a further step and introduce the "Dream Wings" initiative, which gives children with mobility issues and serious health conditions the opportunity to take a once-in-a-lifetime ride on his plane.

Giorgos Hatziparaskos: One of Greece's last authentic phyllo makers

At 86 years old, Giorgos Hatziparaskos is one of the last bakers in Greece making phyllo pastry by hand. With the help of his wife and son, he keeps the business going thanks to tourists visiting the Greek island of Crete.

 

Κεφαλή του Ερμού βρέθηκε μόλις 1.30μ κάτω απ'τη γη της Αθήνας

Στις αρχές του 3ου αιώνα π.χ χρονολογείται η κεφαλή του Ερμού που βρέθηκε την Παρασκευή κατά τη διάρκεια εργασιών του Δήμου Αθηναίων στην οδό Αιόλου.

Σε σχετική ανακοίνωση το Υπ. Πολιτισμού αναφέρει:

«Την Παρασκευή 13 Νοεμβρίου 2020, κατά τη διάρκεια εκσκαφικών εργασιών στο πλαίσιο του έργου «Κατασκευή αποχετευτικών δικτύων ακαθάρτων και των συνδέσεων των ακινήτων 4ης και 5ης Δημοτικής Κοινότητας» του Δήμου Αθηναίων, που εποπτεύει η Εφορεία Αρχαιοτήτων πόλεως Αθηνών, έναντι του Ιερού Ναού Αγίας Ειρήνης, στο ύψος της οδού Αιόλου 25 και σε βάθος 1.30μ. από το οδόστρωμα, απεκαλύφθη κεφαλή Ερμού, εικονίζουσα τον θεό σε ώριμη ηλικία, προφανώς απότμημα ερμαϊκής στήλης. Η εικονογραφία του γλυπτού προσιδιάζει στον τύπο του Ερμού Προπυλαίου του Αλκαμένους.

"Staellinika" platform reconnects Greeks around the world with their heritage language and culture

The Stavros Niarchos Foundation Centre for Hellenic Studies at Simon Fraser University and the General Secretariat for Public Diplomacy and Greeks Abroad of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced the full release of Staellinika, a new online platform which reconnects Greeks abroad with the homeland of their ancestors.

Now, Staellinika users will be able to experience the full version of the web application, which has been available for several months in pilot form, according to the online tool’s developers.

Since its inception, Staellinika, an online platform and suite of apps developed by the SNF New Media Lab at the SNF Centre for Hellenic Studies, has sought to provide individuals ranging from preschool-aged children to young adults with an innovative and engaging product designed to re-connect Greeks around the world with their heritage language and culture.

The platform’s creators have now realized their goal with the launch of a full course curriculum for beginner heritage learners in schools and for individuals at home. The platform can be used either as a stand-alone program to assist schools or to supplement their existing curriculum. It is offered for free thanks to very generous funding from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF).

Greek athlete Marios Giannakou carries disabled student to peak of Mount Olympus

“There is nothing more real than the dream. 09:02 am We reached the top of Greece with Eleftheria and our team,” Marios Giannakou's Instagram post read in reference to Mount Olympus.

This was the post of the long distance athlete who informed about the successful completion of, what he described a few days ago, as the most important and beautiful race of his life. He conquered the top of Mount Olympus, carrying on his back, in a specially modified backpack, 22-year-old Eleftheria Tosiou, who has mobility problems.

“There is nothing more real than a dream,” writes the athlete from Drama in northern Greece, accompanying his post a photo of himself with the young biology student on his back, the Greek flag in his hand and a wide smile of satisfaction on the faces of both.

When Eleftheria met Marios through one of their common friends, she confided in him that she wants to ascend to Mount Olympus.

Without a second thought, the Drama athlete checked the diary, studied the meteorological forecasts, organized the appropriate support team and made his young friend’s dream come true.

Maria Delivoria-Papadopoulos, scientist who saved thousands of infants, dies at 90

Maria Delivoria-Papadopoulos, an internationally known scientist in the field of neonatal medicine who helped save thousands of infants through her groundbreaking research, died Friday, Sept. 11, of endometrial cancer at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.

During a 50-year career, Dr. Delivoria-Papadopoulos was a professor of pediatrics, physiology, and obstetrics/gynecology at Drexel University College of Medicine, and director of neonatal intensive care at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children. Both are in Philadelphia.

She was regarded as the “mother of neonatology” and “a legend in the field," Greece’s Neonatal Society said in an online tribute.

“She remains alive in the hearts and memories of the hundreds of doctors she trained and inspired to have a love for sick children, of the hundreds of Greek doctors she opened the way for, and of the thousands of Greek patients who found treatment at specialized centers with her help,” the society said on Sept. 14.

Born in Athens, she was the daughter of Constantine and Kalliopi Delivoria. She earned a medical degree from Athens University.

She came to the United States in 1957 to pursue postdoctoral study in physiology at the University of Pennsylvania. She joined the faculty and created the neonatal unit at Penn, which she ran before leaving as professor emeritus in 2000.

She was on the Drexel faculty from 2000 to 2006, when she was given the Ralph Brenner Endowed Chair in Pediatrics at St. Christopher’s Hospital.

She was honored globally for her achievements and continued research in neonatal medicine throughout her life. Her most important contribution was taking the iron lung used to treat polio victims in the 1950s and adapting it to support the breathing of premature babies. Another was the use of magnetic resonance imaging to assess the infants' brains.

She was the first doctor to place an infant on a respirator to help with respiratory distress syndrome, her family said in a statement. She was also the first woman and doctor to demonstrate the effective use of mechanical ventilation to treat lung disease in premature infants, the family said.

The mechanics of philotimo: volunteers repair cars damaged in Evia floods (video)

In early August, the Greek island of Evia was hit by a catastrophic flood that killed eight people and caused incalculable destruction. In the wake of the disaster, residents found their homes and possessions destroyed. 

They were left to wonder how they could ever recover from this catastrophe. Now, a group of mechanics from Athens has volunteered to fix vehicles that were heavily damaged in the flood as soon as they saw the aftermath of the natural disaster.

The flooding was caused by the extraordinary amounts of rainfall that fell over a relatively short period of time. While the weather forecast had called for 63 mm (2.5 inches) of rain, Evia was deluged by 300 mm (11.8 inches) in just 8 hours, making the natural disaster one of the most devastating in the region’s history.

Tragically, eight people, including one infant, lost their lives in the terrible storm. Thousands of homes on Evia were flooded with water and mud, and many cars were swept away into the sea by torrents of water.

The amount of damage left by the flood is simply unimaginable. The most heavily-impacted regions on the island were Psachna, Politika, Bourtzi, Vasilikou and Lefkandi.

Upon seeing images of the destruction left in the wake of the flood, car aficionado Vasilis Papanikitas decided to go to Evia with his friends to help the residents there. “It started when I saw the cars in Bourtzi that were destroyed. People were saying that local mechanics didn’t believe that the cars could be repaired, and they should be discarded,” he explains.

Although Papanikitas is not a professional mechanic, but a cafe owner – his ‘Cafe Racer’ is a popular spot among car aficionados, in the Athenian suburb of Kifissia – he’s happy that he has now proved them wrong.

“I really like cars and I love repairing them. I couldn’t accept that the cars couldn’t be fixed. Nearly every car can be fixed,” he stated as he cleaned car parts that had been covered in mud during the flood.