By Rebecca Corbett
The Homeless World Cup spoke to Shedia founder Chris Alefantis and programme manager and social worker Akis Maragkozakis about the street paper’s last 10 years and future plans.
On Zoom, Chris Alefantis holds up a magazine to the screen. “This is Shedia.” He then holds up a clock. “This is Shedia too,” he says.
“A magazine, no matter whether it is Shedia or Cosmopolitan or Der Spiegel or The New Yorker, if they have any unsold copies, they are sent to be recycled. In Shedia, we never send a single copy to be recycled. Instead, we store them. Seven years ago, in March 2016, we invited Shedia vendors over 50 years old to participate in free upcycling workshops.”
The upcycling workshops turned into a catalogue of products ranging from lampshades to coasters to jewellery. Then staff set up a workshop in central Athens from which to sell them. Continuously thinking of ways to expand, they soon grew the shop, too.
The Homeless World Cup is an international street football tournament that takes place in a different country each year and a year-round network organisation, aiding and connecting grassroots charities using football to support people experiencing homelessness.