For parents and families that have lost a child, every day is a day of remembrance. Nevertheless, there is comfort in knowing that you do not walk this painful path alone; that there is a helping hand, a warm embrace that is always there for you and others like you who have lost what they held most precious. This warm embrace is called Merimna, and it offers substantial and practical support and relief to children and families in difficult moments of bereavement and during life-threatening health situations.
For eight years now, Merimna has marked Days of Remembrance in honor of children who are no longer with us, children who received care through its Pediatric Palliative Home Care Service during the course of their illness and at the end of life, or who the organization’s team got to know through parents who reached out to the psychologists at its Bereavement Counseling Center. Merimna organized two Days of Remembrance in Athens and Thessaloniki in October and November respectively, where the symbol of the labyrinth represented people’s ability to find solutions to dead-end situations. Each Day of Remembrance is dedicated to honoring and paying homage to the children who left us; it is a day of gathering and reconnecting between the families and the people of Merimna, as well as a day of introspection about what is most important in life and all the things that give us the strength and courage to go on.
The event was part of the Bereavement Support for Children and Families Who Have Experienced Loss program, which is supported by an SNF Nostos x Release Athens grant as part of SNF’s Global Health Initiative (SNF).