“Those who brought the real change were individuals, neither government nor large organizations, usually it was always one person who was supported by many others”
Migratory Birds and Erietta Kourkoulou Latsi have the goal of fighting prejudice and striving for social change, rights, and equality. The founder and president of the Kind Things Public Benefit Foundation visited the Youth Center and shared with the newspaper’s team the experiences that made her autobiography, I am Erieta.
Children and teenagers from the Cultural Lab and the Youth Center visited the “Save a Greek Stray” Shelter.
Was there a specific event in your life that made you want to work with strays?
Some children have a passion for something specific. For some, it may be something like cars, but ever since I was a little girl, my passion has always been for animals, even though my parents were not very fond of them. Growing up, I witnessed the problem in Greece with strays, especially before the 2004 Olympics when they cleaned up the streets. The problem in Greece was very evident and because of my love for animals, I could not understand how it was possible for so many animals to not have access to food, water, or a clean environment to protect them from the weather. This is how my urge to protect and help these animals was born, and ever since then, it has continued to evolve.
You have your own Public Benefit Foundation “Kind things”, but also two important nonprofit organizations “A promise to animals” and “Save a Greek Stray”, in addition, you are an entrepreneur as you have your own vegan store Holy Llama and are involved in many other interesting things. These are many projects!
What is your favorite part of your job?
I’m lucky enough to enjoy all of my work because I have been fortunate enough to choose my profession… It is hard to pick a favorite part, but if I had to choose, I would say it would be the ability to work in the field. I don’t like being stuck in an office and away from the people or the animals we support. I like being at the center of what’s going on, and that’s what gives me life, otherwise, I think I would be very bored.
How did you start your podcast series?
I decided to start a podcast because there were many organizations and personalities that I thought deserved more attention. I think we don’t hear enough about the work of very important people and organizations that do amazing work. So, doing the podcast gave me the opportunity to provide a platform to people and organizations that I think are doing wonderful work and are not being heard or supported enough.
I decided to make a special section about mental health because I think it is something that is becoming even more important as the years go by. We are living in very fast paced environments and as you pointed out before, many of us have many roles to fulfill and often feel like we must do everything perfectly, which is impossible. In the past, this has affected me, so I went through quite a long period of having regular panic attacks and struggling with my mental health. So, personal experiences played a role in leading me to get involved with it as well.
Your love for animals is obvious, but you are not only an animal activist but also a writer. Recently you published your autobiography “I am Erietta”.
What inspired you to write an autobiography?
I started sharing some of my personal experiences through social media a few years ago… I ended up sharing some of my personal experiences that had to do with my difficulty having my first child, my battle with panic attacks, and various other issues. When I started this, I gained an immense sense of strength, because I encountered many people who were experiencing the same thing. This led to my understanding that when we share things, that can be personal and difficult to talk about, or considered taboο, we become close to people who are experiencing the same thing, and we feel less alone. The reason I wrote this book was to help readers feel less alone and to help myself feel less alone through sharing these experiences
Do you have any advice for someone who wants to take the first step to start a social project and bring change to the world around them?
Start with small actions. I think we often underestimate what we can do and all of us, regardless of our financial background and our experiences, can do small things every day that change the world. The first step is to believe that what you do matters. Talking to a homeless person, saying good morning, and asking them their name matters to that person. I think that starting and believing in yourself and believing that even the smallest action brings change is a huge step. It is important to never give up… Pay attention to the people who will come your way, because when you start doing what you want to do and serving a purpose, people who serve the same purpose will join you. Seize this opportunity, gather them, and act, because we cannot do it alone.
We witness in the society around us that very young people have developed very aggressive and delinquent behaviors.
Why do you think this is happening?
This has stressed me out a lot… The problem certainly increases when we are cut off, either from our family or from those around us. There is no teacher to inspire us, there are no parents who understand us, and there is a great suppression of emotions and a constant tension.
Certainly, the social part plays a role, but I don’t consider it decisive. That is, I hear from very expensive private schools that there are incidents of violence, as well as from schools in more degraded areas where the conditions are more difficult. But it certainly also affects the mobile phone and the constant flow of information. There is also the issue of violent video games, which of course have existed for many years, but have increased lately. If you live in an environment that simply does not accept any kind of emotion and from a young age you hear “don’t cry, don’t shout, don’t show any emotion”, everything is suppressed and in the end, it becomes an outburst that may not even be related to the person it is directed at. It is about the deeper issues.
Is there anything you would like to say?
Believe in the power of one, and at the same time, believe in the power of many because one affects the others. When they unite, that is the beginning of infinity. So, trust yourself and don’t underestimate yourself because if we go back in history, we will notice that the people who brought the real change were individuals. They were neither governments nor large organizations. Usually, it was always one person who was supported by many others and finally, they achieved their goal. These people were the ones who were considered crazy by many other people, so don’t get discouraged, and continue the fight.
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