Greek Australian, Mary Yannopoulos, always wanted to start her own charity to help disadvantaged people. At the time, she was managing her husband’s dental practice in Marrickville until eventually she decided to start her own mortgage broking business, Skybridge Capital Pty Ltd.
For many, juggling so many different hats would prove a challenge. Not for Mary. In fact, eight years ago she decided to take on more responsibility and make her true dream a reality. She founded the ‘For the Girls of Grenada Inc.’ charity.
“I have previously sponsored World Vision and then I realised that not all the funds go directly to where they’re supposed to go, so I wanted to do something myself,” Mary tells The Greek Herald exclusively.
“Eight years ago, my son-in-law went to work at the hospital in Grenada for six months and while he was living there, he got to see the way of life and the poverty. When he came back he said, ‘I think you should go to Grenada and try to help there.’ And that’s when I took it on.”
Since then, Mary has visited Grenada four times and witnessed for herself the prevalence of sexual assault by family members and poverty experienced by young women and children of the island.
“We went to the hospital and found that there was no hand sanitiser on the wall, there was no soap, there were no gloves or masks. There are babies dying from poor hygiene,” Mary explains.
“The girls that fall pregnant to their father’s, some of them just leave the babies on the streets and they end up in hospital, waiting for a home to go to. So it’s a really hard life over there.”
‘For the Girls of Grenada Inc.’ has fortunately been able to help about 80-120 of these local families by providing basic life necessities and ongoing mentoring.
This comes despite Mary being out-of-action throughout 2021 due to health complications. Whilst on the surface the charity itself stood still, behind the scenes its incredible work remained very much alive and moving.
“Three more of our girls graduated from TAMCC college studies, whilst one more joined. Another one of the girls started their higher education within Nursing school, and a further four more are also looking to apply,” Mary explains.
This is something Mary says she’s incredibly proud of as it wouldn’t have been possible without the support of the local community.
“It is the hurdles that we face in life that make us stronger. My desire to help the girls only burned even brighter this year,” she concludes.
A worthy cause from a woman who has truly been able to fulfill her dream of helping disadvantaged people in this world.
This year ‘For the Girls of Grenada Inc.’ has partnered with @official.love.ally to launch the #THISGIRLCAN collection: curated home décor candles made from a premium beeswax blend to support the @girlsofgrenada. It is the perfect gift for Mother’s Day and will inspire change. Find out more here: www.girlsofgrenada.org/shop-to-donate.
