Where Strength Begins: A Day with Unaccompanied Girls at Shapiro Shelter
Standing with Girls on the Frontlines of Crisis
On October 11th, 2025 — International Day of the Girl Child, EmpowerVan had the honor of leading a special empowerment and self-defense seminar at the Shapiro Shelter in Athens, home to unaccompanied minor girls from Sudan, the Congo, Sierra Leone, Afghanistan, and Somalia.
The workshop spanned over three days and was organized in collaboration with the Unit for Integration and Support of Unaccompanied Minors of the Greek Ministry of Migration and Asylum, under the leadership of Dr. Gelly Aroni, PhD and her colleague Rania Zachariadou.
Gelly and Rania joined us on the last day of the workshop, and we celebrated together under this year’s theme:
“The girl I am, the change I lead: Girls on the frontlines of crisis.”
A Day of Awareness, Strength, and Connection
Led by Claude Jonkmans, founder of EmpowerVan, the 8-hour seminar combined body awareness, communication, and practical self-defense tools through the Five Fingers of Self-Defense framework — a simple yet powerful approach to protection and healing:
Think – Cultivate awareness and trust your intuition.
Voice – Communicate your boundaries with strength and confidence.
Run – Recognize exits and know when to leave safely.
Fight – Defend, strike, and release with courage.
Tell – Seek help, practice self-care, and never stay silent.
We had a diverse group of girls, and seeing how they grew more confident throughout the week was inspiring. Each activity helped the girls recognize that strength is not something given, but something awakened.
Breaking Barriers — Literally
To close the workshop, each participant had the opportunity to break a wooden board, a symbolic act representing the breaking of fear, self-doubt, or limitation.
With each strike, cheers and smiles filled the room. What began as hesitation turned into pride. The breaking of each board became a collective celebration — a moment of shared empowerment and release. We are proud of the extraordinary, courageous young girls of the Shapiro Shelter.
Dr. Gelly Aroni shared:
“Claude’s workshop was a powerful reminder that empowerment is not something we give, but something we help awaken. Through her compassionate yet professional approach, she creates a safe space where young unaccompanied girls reconnect with their strength, confidence, and voice — truly transformative work that supports both safety and healing.”
This workshop in Athens reflects EmpowerVan’s ongoing commitment to providing tools for safety, confidence, and self-agency to displaced women and girls. Beyond physical self-defense, these sessions help participants build trust in their bodies, their voices, and their right to feel safe. Through close collaboration with institutions like the Ministry of Migration and Asylum, EmpowerVan continues to create spaces where empowerment becomes a sustainable, community-led process.
