Food for the Soul, Hope for the Heart 

Today I leave the Soul Food Kitchen, so sad to say goodbye and yet looking forward to seeing my family. The humanity of the people I have worked with is quite staggering, but one person I have met really stands out as a special individual. Petra is a petit, beautiful woman from Austria – she is only 22 and yet is already incredibly strong, driven and capable. She doesn’t see this of cause, she is modest and not particularly fond of any light being shined upon her, happy to work in the background, not needing any limelight to keep motivated.

If Pixi is an unpredictable, hard to stop, stormy sea then Petra is a clear, deep, blue, calm lake. She works like an unstoppable machine in the kitchen, planning meals with imagination and care. Always minimising waste and always prepared to work even harder in order to make an even better meal for the homeless refugees and locals in Thessaloniki. She takes control in the kitchen, working with determination and passion, directing volunteers, yet always ready to listen to ideas and suggestions.

It is so clear to me that Petra could be very successful at anything she wanted to do, she is intelligent, resourceful and self-motivated. Yet, she has chosen, like many others I have met, to give a significant portion of her life to unpaid work, helping the increasing numbers of displaced people on our planet.

Her calmness when faced with difficulties or stresses is a talent which is very useful in her line of work, but occasionally you see a glimpse of her fears and worries. These thoughts are delivered with a smile and laugh though, never in anger or with venom.

She is also leaving today, to go to Austria for a short time. You can see Pixi is incredibly sad about losing Petra, even for a short time. But it is highly likely that she will return very soon, the cause is in her blood.

She spent her last night in Greece, at the Soul Food Kitchen, chatting with a few of us after work, drinking a little beer and writing the meal plans for the kitchen for the next couple of days. She told me that she wouldn’t be able to sleep properly if she didn’t make these plans for the food which has been given over the last couple of days.

You can see why I am sad to leave, young people like Petra give me huge hope for the future, and hope is something I crave like a drug.

Good bye Soul Food Kitchen, Good Bye Pixi and Petra, no doubt we will meet again soon,

One Love