ABOUT US
AMURTEL (Ananda Marga Universal Relief Team, Ladies) is an international women’s NGO founded in 1975 in India, initiating projects managed by women for women and children. AMURTEL Greece maintains safe women’s spaces that focus on the period of pregnancy
up to two years after birth.
We understand that for many women in times of crisis, their concerns focus around the well-being of their children and family. We are also aware that disasters can make women more susceptible to post-traumatic stress, depression, or lingering shock and grief. Pregnant and postpartum women are often especially vulnerable.
AMURTEL maintains a day center in a central area of Athens as well as providing services in refugee camps, shelters and local NGO venues.
We understand that for many women in times of crisis, their concerns focus around the well-being of their children and family. We are also aware that disasters can make women more susceptible to post-traumatic stress, depression, or lingering shock and grief. Pregnant and postpartum women are often especially vulnerable.
AMURTEL maintains a day center in a central area of Athens as well as providing services in refugee camps, shelters and local NGO venues.
OUR AIMS
Mitigate the effects of crises by supporting women to be the best possible mothers they can be and thus give their children the best possible start in life.
Empower women through discussions about infant care with an emphasis on breastfeeding and infant nutrition, as well as sexual reproductive health and gender based violence.
Create community in order to overcome the often devastating effects of isolation due to lack of a supportive network of family and friends.
WHO WE ARE
Didi Lee
Regional Coordinator As the Regional Coordinator of AMURTEL in Greece, Didi began coordinating programs for pregnancy and infant care during the unprecedented influx of refugees in 2015. Stemming from the 1970’s when she lived in the US and assisted mothers and families in giving birth at home, Didi has been committed to mothers and babies experiencing pregnancy, birth and the first years of life after birth in the best possible way.
Rana A. Kamperis
Operations Manager Rana is from Lebanon. She has a BSC in physiotherapy with a specialization in women’s health and an MS in Quality in Healthcare. She is trained in supporting breastfeeding families and counselling for breastfeeding online as well as facilitating breastfeeding and infant care support groups. Rana speaks three languages and is a full time mother of 2 boys.
Georgia Stavrakis
Fundraising andCommunications Manager Australian born, Georgia settled in Greece in 2018 after spending most of her vacations travelling between the two countries all her life. Soon after, Georgia joined AMURTEL Greece as the Communications & Fundraising Manager. Georgia has worked for charities most of her career and loves the direct contact and measurable impact AMURTEL has with mothers and babies.
Hengameh Tajik
Project Manager Studied hardware engineering in Tehran but had to leave Iran in 2012. Having volunteered with AMURTEL and other organizations as a Farsi interpreter/cultural mediator, Henna has taken over as AMURTEL’s Project Manager since January 2021.
Maria Bobou
Lactation Consultant Has a BA and MA degree in psychology. Her two daughters, now adults, brought her in contact with the joys and challenges of mothering and breastfeeding. For 20 years she has been a breastfeeding counselor, at first with La Leche League International and from 2007, as an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC). She has been involved with refugee support with AMURTEL as an Infant Feeding counselor since 2015.
Airini Azhar
Finance and Procurement Manager Airinie is a trained accountant and holds a Master’s in Public Health, with special emphasis on Infant and Child Nutrition. She has worked in the humanitarian field for a decade and specialises in financial and grant management for NGO’s.
Dafni Giannaki
Certified Midwife/ outreach coordinator Dafni is a dedicated midwife in humanitarian settings. She has spent nearly a decade working alongside refugee communities, offering care, support, and empowerment to mothers and their newborns. With a Master’s in Health Crisis Management, her journey is fueled by a passion for connecting with families and making a difference where it’s needed most. When she is not immersed in midwifery, you’ll find her on the yoga mat—either practicing or guiding others through this transformative art.
Litsa Anastasopoulou
Administrative Assistant Has been the Intake Officer/Administrative Assistant at AMURTEL since 2016. She really enjoys working in a place with women and babies (in her own words: “what working environment could be sweeter?!”) She believes in the empowerment of women and is glad to make even a small contribution to this empowerment. Litsa hopes to continue this job for many years and help as many women and babies as possible. She is married and and has a son and a daughter.
Inés Fernández
French Interpreter/Social Media Coordinator Ines is from Spain and has a Bachelor in Communications degree. Before moving to Greece 4 years ago, Ines worked in marketing and TV. Living in Athens, Ines started supporting projects that worked in the refugee space, which is handy for AMURTEL Greece as she speaks 5 languages! Ines works as one of our French Interpreters and is also our Social Media Coordinator.
Rawan Obouch
Arabic interpreter/ cultural mediator Rawan is from Lebanon. She has been working in Greece as an Arabic interpreter since 2016. She completed her law degree in Lebanon and is a qualified lawyer.
Yiannis and Apostolos-Aggelos Yiotis
Security Guards Yiannis is 49 years old and from Greece. Amongst other jobs, he served in the Greek army for 12 years with five medals of honour. He has been working at AMURTEL since 2017 as a security guard.Apostolos-Aggelos, 23 years old, is Yiannis’ son. Having completed his training as a security guard, he has worked with his father at AMURTEL since 2019.
