From first steps to new beginnings: Stories of resilience through the Stepping Stone integration programme for refugees
From first steps to new beginnings: Stories of resilience through the Stepping Stone integration programme for refugees
Aziz (L), a refugee from Sierra Leone, working alongside Housekeeping Supervisor Eleni Fragkatou (R) at the hotel where they are employed in central Athens.
On a typical morning in Athens, the day begins early for Aziz. Sometimes as early as five or six o’clock, the 19-year-old is already on his way to work - tired, perhaps, but determined. Aziz fled to Greece in 2023 from Sierra Leone in search of safety, alone and underage. He arrived on the island of Samos with uncertainty about what lay ahead. Today, his life looks very different. He attends a vocational high school to become an electrician, works at the renowned Electra Rhythm Athens hotel, and spends several evenings a week on the football field with his local team. His dream is clear: to be a professional football player.
“I feel calm now,” he says. “I am very happy. My life has returned to normal, and I have left the difficult times behind me.”
This sense of stability did not come easily. Like many young refugees, Aziz had to navigate a new language, adapt to unfamiliar systems, and find his place in a society that was initially foreign to him. Through the Stepping Stone integration programme, implemented by METAdrasi with the support of UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, he received the guidance needed to move forward: support in accessing employment, understanding administrative processes, and connecting with opportunities that matched his potential.
The hotel where Aziz works has become more than just a workplace. It is where he found acceptance and encouragement. His colleagues speak warmly of him; of his respectfulness, his willingness to learn, and his readiness to help at any moment. His supervisor, Ms. Eleni Fragkatou, has become a particularly important figure in his life.
“Mrs. Eleni is my family here in Greece,” he says.
Balancing work with school and football is not always easy, but his employer ensures that his schedule remains flexible so he can continue his studies and pursue his passion for sport. On the field, playing for Stamata Football Club, Aziz has built friendships, confidence and a sense of belonging. Whenever he can, he heads to the stadium to watch his favourite team, AEK.
Tavi, a refugee woman from Iraq, preparing breakfast during her shift at an Athenian hotel where she works as a member of the kitchen team.
Aziz, refugee from Sierra Leone, during his shift in the Housekeeping Unit at a renowned hotel in central Athens.
Tavi, a refugee woman from Iraq, serves breakfast to a guest at the hotel where she works in central Athens.
In another central Athens hotel, L’ Avventura Athens, Tavi is starting her shift in the kitchen. Her quiet confidence and warm smile, that her colleagues have come to know well, conceal years of hardship but also unwavering strength.
Tavi, refugee from Iraq, arrived in Greece in 2017 alone with her four children. The journey was harrowing. During the sea crossing from Türkiye to Kos, their boat drifted helplessly for hours. They lost all their belongings, and with only one lifejacket among them, she faced an impossible challenge: how to protect all her children at once.
What was once a comfortable life in Iraq, was ultimately threatening for her and her children. In Greece, she had to start from nothing.
Without stable access to formal employment, she spent years taking whatever work she could find, often underpaid and precarious, just to keep her family afloat. Yet even during those difficult times, she made a conscious choice about how to face the world.
“I want to be strong and smiling for my children,” she says. “Even when I am not happy, I want to appear strong for them.”
As trained teacher with a degree in Kurdish language, and years of experience as both an educator and a hairdressing instructor, Tavi never stopped looking for opportunities to rebuild her life.
Through the Stepping Stone programme, she found one. She joined a boutique hotel in central Athens, quickly expressing her interest to move into the kitchen. Her request was met with trust and encouragement, and she is now working in a position she truly enjoys.
“We all enjoy working with Tavi,” the hotel’s HR manager, Ms. Yria Exarchou says. “She has a real zest for life.”
For Tavi, the job represents more than income; it represents recognition and the chance to build again.
“I want to go to a cooking school and become a chef,” she says. Her biggest dream, however, is for her family: “I want to stay in Greece. I want to see my children grow up happy, for all of us to have stable jobs, and one day to buy our own home.”
Her children are already shaping their own futures — one studying psychology, another dreaming of becoming a lawyer, and the youngest imagining a career in the beauty industry. Their ambitions reflect the future Tavi has worked so hard to secure.
What connects Aziz and Tavi, is the journey from uncertainty to possibility and the role of support systems that recognize potential where it might otherwise be overlooked.
For employers, the benefits go beyond filling vacancies. “We are not looking for robots; we focus on personality and character,” Ms. Exarchou explains. Electra Rhythm hotel’s HR Manager. Ms. Ios Kyriazi adds, “A person’s background does not define their value or contribution. In a workplace that includes staff from more than 20 nationalities, diversity is not just accepted, it is part of the company’s identity”.
These partnerships make stories like Aziz’s and Tavi’s possible. They show that integration is not only about employment, but about dignity, belonging, and mutual trust.
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About the Stepping Stone programme
The Stepping Stone integration programme, implemented by METAdrasi with the support of UNHCR, helps refugees and asylum-seekers access real work opportunities by offering job counselling, addressing administrative barriers, and working closely with employers. At the same time, it builds bridges with the private sector, supporting businesses in identifying talent and fostering inclusive workplaces.
UNHCR is deeply grateful to its flexible donors, whose generosity makes it possible to sustain our and partners’ work on the ground, and offer refugees a #HomeAwayFromHome. The Stepping Stone integration programme is a powerful example of how flexible contributions can change lives and create lasting impact.
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