The Pomegranate Project
BY ACTION FOR WOMEN
The Pomegranate Project is born from the concept of seeding women’s individual and collective power and potential. It provides refugee and asylum-seeking women in Athens, who are at risk, and survivors of gender-based violence (GBV) with access to a holistic protection and empowerment model for recovery, resilience and re-integration.
Shelter
Access to shelter offers immediate safety and protection from physical harm. In the long term it also offers stability and the space needed for recovery.
Mental Health & Psychosocial Support
Participants heal from trauma in a safe, women-only environment through 1:1 sessions and community-based group activities that reduce isolation and strengthen connection.
Skills Acquisition
We support women through Greek classes and weekly workshops that build everyday skills
All these services happen under one roof, reinforcing our commitment to a holistic model in an all-female environment. A dedicated childcare team supports mothers to access all services by removing the barrier of domestic responsibilities, ensuring their full focus and meaningful participation, while feeling confident that their little ones are being cared for.
Shop for Good
Without buying anything that needs dusting, charging, or returning. Every item in our shop represents something essential to keeping our operations running day to day: A warm and safe room with electricity, Wi-FI, a Greek lesson that opens doors, a month of safety, snacks for Community Friday, cleaning supplies, transportation support, even our quarterly showdown with Athens cockroaches.
The items in our shop aren’t symbolic gifts or feel-good tokens. Every item you see here is something we truly rely on to operate: They’re the real line items in our yearly budget, the everyday essentials that make our work possible. The real costs behind safety, dignity, and rebuilding.
No products. No profit.
Just direct care — from your hands to hers.
Follow our Instagram to stay up to date on the project and new product launches!
Previous Campaigns
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Athena Centre for Women | Chios
The lack of a safe space for women arriving on the island of Chios led Action for Women to open the Athena Centre for Women in 2016. It was the first and only exclusively-female space in Greece outside the refugee camps.
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Women-Only Bus | Chios
Following the closure of Souda camp in July 2017, the refugees were transferred to Vial, located over seven kilometers outside central Chios. The camp has experienced tremendous overcrowding and the limited bus service provided was always overwhelmed with demand. We launched a twice-daily all-women bus services, which allowed women and girls to safely, comfortably and reliably access the medical, legal, psychosocial services provided at our Athena Centre for Women and the city’s amenities, six days a week, The bus became a critically important component of our work on Chios.
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Halcyon Days Project | Athens
We opened the Halcyon Days Project in Athens to provide safety, support and hope to women fleeing persecution, conflict and violence. Participants of the Halcyon Days Project had access to non-formal English classes, legal and psycho-social support. It became a thriving community for 150 women daily.
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SEEN Photography Collection
SEEN was a collection of portraits taken by, and of, women fleeing conflict, violence and persecution. The workshops aimed to empower women with the skills to portray themselves and their friends in a strong, resilient, and hopeful light. The photos were a culmination of a two week photography workshop held by Zurich-based photographer Mardiana Sani, at our Athena Centre for Women, and were shown in Athens, Belgium, Straasbourg, Sweden, and Zurich.