We at CHEERing have updated our vaccine checker tool, to help our team and the aid field at large, to assess infant vaccination status among refugees in Greece. The Greek vaccination schedule was adjusted in the summer of 2019, and our new chart reflects that update. We have also added a visual aid showing where…

WABA (the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Advocacy) has awarded a prestigious Seed Grant to CHEERing in World Breastfeeding Week, to further our work with refugees in Greece. In sync with WBW’s goal of “Empower Parents, Enable Breastfeeding”, and a particular focus on fathers, CHEERing will use the funds to present sessions to engage refugee fathers…

CHEERing thanks the Welcome Foundation https://www.welcomefoundation.org/ for kindly supplying us with a measuring mat and other basic needs like growth charts and hygiene basics, all so badly needed for our daily visits to the camps and shelters. The measuring mat is so popular that mothers are lining up to use it! And it makes our…

CHEERing is honored to announce receipt of funding from Help Refugees, an international organization devoted to improving refugee lives around the world https://helprefugees.org/ . The funds will mainly be used to pay and train our Farsi, Arabic, French and other translators working with us at Skaramagas, Oinofyta, and Eleonas camps, and at the Elna Maternity…

Today, June 21st, CHEERing had a super-busy day at Eleonas! We had 26 women attend our mother/baby session, including lots of new moms with babies to be weighed, and many pregnant women. CHEERing works with Project Elea to support breastfeeding mothers and help pregnant women prepare to breastfeed. Many thanks to our project team, Airinie,…

CHEERing has created this simple chart that anyone can use to see if infants in Greek refugee settings are up to date with their vaccinations. You can find the record of the baby’s vaccinations in the little white booklet that comes home with them from the hospital of birth, and which the parents must take…

CHEERinGreece has taken to the conference circuit to present on the plight of breastfeeding refugees in Greece. In June 2019, we presented at the MAINN conference in Lancashire, England, on our findings that breastfeeding rates among refugees are low, and that refugee camps in the Athens area do not adhere to international guidelines for Infant…

CHEERing would like to wish everyone a happy Mother’s Day! Take a look at our new CHEERing artwork from talented young artist Annie Armstrong from Scotland – check out her Facebook page at Annie Armstrong Art

CHEERing Director Anne Merewood was honored to speak at the 12th Galaxias National IBCLC and IBFAN Conference in Athens in April 2019. We applaud the dynamic movement to support and increase breastfeeding rates in Greece and all the champions who organized, attended, and spoke at the conference. It’s an exciting time to be involved with…

Easter weekend in Greece and CHEERing was thrilled to welcome 6 volunteer medics from Medical Volunteers International to an infant feeding training. We discussed the challenges faced in camps and shelters around growth and nutrition, reasons to encourage breastfeeding, and ways to refer children when we identify health issues in our routine checks. We are…