What began as a despairing head-holding session on the sofa one Sunday afternoon, after getting the walloping 30,000 euro construction quote for the new dojo from our civil engineer, was transformed into one of the most humbling, inspiring and transformational lifetime journeys.
After the initial gamble of raising the funds for the purchase, there didn't seem to be any resources left to call on for the necessary reconstruction works, and for a moment it looked like the leap across the abyss was to become a tumble into the void, leaving us with an unusable box, ravaged by damp and mould. What to do? Then a message from our brothers and sisters across the waters at Brooklyn Aikikai, they were doing a fundraiser for us!
Optimism and hope were rekindled and we decided to just ask, to reach out to our Aikido family across the world and see if they could help and the response was overwhelming! In 47 days we received 90 donations spanning across 10 countries, along with fundraising events and donations made by family and members closer to home, and we didn't just reach our target of 30,000 euros, but we exceeded it by more than 2000!
Unbelievable!
Athens Aikido's permanent home is being built solely on generosity, donations and the faith and goodwill of the Aikido family, it is indeed a true manifestation of Aiki spirit.
Thank you as always to all of you for following and being a part of this journey!