Young people learn web development skills at Social Hackers Academy in Athens, Greece, on Jan. 24, 2018. In a lively district of the Greek capital, the newly-founded NGO Athens Social Hackers Academy trains marginalized youth in software engineering to help them land jobs and build a better future. Set up by a group of tech and marketing experts, web developers and other volunteers, the school provides lessons free of charge to refugees, migrants and long-term unemployed to help them acquire new skills to boost their chances of finding employment and integrate into society. (Xinhua/Marios Lolos)

by Maria Spiliopoulou, Valentini Anagnostopoulou

ATHENS, Jan. 26 (Xinhua) -- In a lively district of the Greek capital, the newly-founded NGO Athens Social Hackers Academy trains marginalized youth in software engineering to help them land jobs and build a better future.

Set up by a group of tech and marketing experts, web developers and other volunteers, the school provides lessons free of charge to refugees, migrants and long-term unemployed to help them acquire new skills to boost their chances of finding employment and integrate into society.

Following a short computer literacy class, students attend the coding school for five hours once a week. They begin with basic programming skills and build up to building complex websites, all the while gaining more confidence in themselves. The courses, which started last September, last for about six months.

So far, 24 youth have enrolled in the academy which is the brainchild of professionals of different backgrounds sharing a common vision: to find a way to give back to society by helping people affected by the refugee and financial crises.

The managing director of the academy is Damianos Vavanos, who has a background in digital marketing and operations and who has worked in many NGOs for years. He quit his previous job to give his all to the academy.

"I was looking at the refugee crisis from my sofa and I wanted to help out, but I didn't know how to do it. And I was thinking, thinking, thinking," he told Xinhua in a recent interview.

The penny dropped when he realized that most NGOs as well as state and international organizations do not substantially empower people nor do they give them the proper tools for their next steps.

"I wanted to help them integrate. In order for them to integrate they need to find work. This is my thinking. So in order to find work we need to train them in something...I decided to do this because there is a huge market for it," he explained pointing to trends in job hunting.

The need for web developers is on the rise even in Greece where many professions have been hit hard in the past eight years. A total of seventeen developers volunteer at the academy.

"Everybody has a reason for being here. Most of them just want to give back, especially the developers. Because they were very fortunate, they have a job which was not affected by the crisis, so they just want to give back," Vavanos noted.

Some refugee students who registered in September volunteered as mentors to support the next group that joined in December. They, too, want to give back.

"Refugees who have walked literally from Bangladesh or Afghanistan. They come over here, they have nothing, and they want to give back to society -- that really and honestly makes us very humble," he added,

The Athens Social Hackers Academy has partnered with similar projects across Europe and other NGOs to exchange expertise and advice. Financially, they rely on crowd funding to keep going and hopefully grow. Vavanos hopes that a new academy will open on Crete island soon, as demand from applicants is also going.

The school received 65 applications for the first class and 125 applications for the second. Their capacity at the moment is 12 students per class.

"The amount of people who want to help has been the most amazing thing...I didn't know it would be so easy to find people who wanted to help," co- founder Chris Owen told Xinhua.

An experienced developer, Owen quit his job in London once Vavanos told him about the idea of the academy and moved to Greece to start teaching as a volunteer.

The classes are not easy. They are demanding and most of his students start out nervous.

"The most difficult part is reassuring people that they can do it...And the most rewarding is being there at the moment when they realize they can do it. That is definitely the best part," he told Xinhua.

Alyas Omer Shams, 24, a refugee from Afghanistan who reached Greece two years ago is one of the students who have overcome insecurities and obstacles, and has made remarkable progress.

"I hope to become a developer... Now I feel more confident of myself," Shams told Xinhua.

Twenty-eight-year-old Arthur Shakirov from Russia has also made significant discoveries about himself after attending the classes, especially about teamwork.

"I used to work alone, but now I realize, I discovered for myself that the work in a team is quite good," he said.