Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).) were received yesterday, within the framework of the AEGIS programme, by voluntary Civil Protection organisations at a special event held at the Athens Olympic Museum, in the presence of the Minister of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection, Yiannis Kefalogiannis.
The “Equipment for Voluntary Organisations” project is funded by the European Investment Bank (EIB) and concerns voluntary organisations registered in the Civil Protection Volunteer Register (VPR), with the aim of providing material support for the work they do.
The equipment delivered to the country’s voluntary organisations includes:
– 500 uniforms, with a total budget of €743,646.00
– 500 protective boots, for a total budget of EUR 592 596,00
– 500 gloves, for a total budget of EUR 167 400,00
– 500 helmets with flashlight, for a total budget of 940,230.00
During his speech, the Minister referred to a ceremony with a special symbolism, as it is a moment in which “the State recognizes and returns a small part of what it owes to those who, in difficult times, have been by its side”. At the same time, he stressed that volunteering in Civil Protection “is not an occasional act of giving or a leisure activity, but a conscious choice to share together the responsibility to protect what unites us.”
Mr. Kefalogiannis said that for many years the State, but often society itself, treated volunteering more as a complementary activity, a commendable form of giving, but not as an institution with an essential role in the way society organises itself in the face of difficult times. As he underlined, “today we know that this perception does not reflect its true importance: in many countries with well-developed civil protection systems, volunteers are an organic part of the overall planning, trained, organised and cooperating with professional forces, not as a substitute for the state, but as a force that multiplies its potential.”
He noted that this paradigm shift must be translated into practice, first through solid institutional support, and referred to interventions over the past year that he said actively support volunteerism in Civil Protection, such as the exemption of registration and vehicle registration fees for voluntary organisations, the ability of civil servants who are also volunteers to be absent during red alert periods without losing pay, and the delivery of 4.500 sets of modern personal equipment to the volunteers.
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“Behind every voluntary action there are practical needs with a financial consideration,” he said, adding that “the legislation of horizontal financial support to organizations is a practical recognition by the State to the people who invest time, effort and resources for the common good.” Kefalogiannis.
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“All volunteers express the choice of citizens to take an active role in the challenges facing their country,”
For her part, the president of the Volunteer Group of Kapandriti Polydendriou ETHEKAP, Lydia Sophia Vatsela, representing the volunteers, stressed that today’s ceremony is a practical recognition and claim of the institution of volunteerism, as “the delivery of Personal Protection Equipment to volunteers is taking place for the first time in Greece”.
“Today is a new beginning, a beginning of substantial support and strengthening of volunteerism in our country,” he said, thanking the head of the Civil Leadership and the Fire Brigade and the Panhellenic Federation of Voluntary Organisations for their contribution, as he stressed, decisive in the existence today of these institutional results that have become reality, “such as improvements in the implementation of the new law, in the training of volunteers and the provision of equipment shielding the safety of those who operate”. He concluded by stressing that “the volunteers of Civil Protection, we are present in every crisis – in fires, in floods, when local communities are tested, with a sense of responsibility, with self-denial and with deep love for our country.”
The ceremony was also attended by the Secretary General of Civil Protection, Nikos Papayevstathiou, the Deputy Chief of the Fire Brigade, Major General Anastasios Pappas, the Chief of Staff of the Fire Brigade, Lieutenant General Athanasios Balafas, Senior and Senior Officers, the Directors of the Headquarters of the Fire Brigade and the Commanders of the Fire Services of the Attica Region, the Deputy Mayor of Civil Protection and Voluntary municipality of Peania, Ioanna Maria Giannakou, the President of the Panhellenic Federation of Voluntary Organizations Forest Protection – Forest Firefighting, Stavros Salagiannis, the vice-president of the Panhellenic Federation of Voluntary Organizations of Forest Protection – Forest Firefighting, Georgios Dertilis, the president of the Movement of Residents of Thracomacedonas, Nikolaos Matthaiou, the president of the Volunteer Fire Safety Group of Milesi, Ioannis Mathioulomanolakis, the president of the Volunteer Fire Safety Group of Nea Politia – Oropou, Dimitra Potamianou, the president of the Volunteer Group of Varnavas, Panagiotis Katsikis, the president of the Volunteer Civil Protection Association of Agios Stefanos, Christos Sismanoglou, the president of the Kryoneri Volunteer Civil Protection Association, Athanasios Doulas, as well as representatives of the Volunteer Group of Pikermio – Rafina, the Volunteer Civil Protection Association of the NE Sector of Ymittos, the Association of Volunteer Forest Firefighters of Marathon, the Volunteer Forest Firefighting and Rescue Forces of Rodopolis and the Volunteer Forest Protection – Forest Firefighting Team of Peania.
