Story#14 - Vassiliki
Vassiliky, AthensI met Vassiliki in Athens on a tough day for her. 22 March, the day when, eighteen years before, her son Panos was killed at the age of 22 by a reckless driver on his way to class at the University of Patras, 230 km east of the Greek capital.
Even more, we drove the same road. More precisely, we took the new motorway recently built next to the national roadway where the accident occurred. A windy a cald day, that you do not expect in Greece.
A difficult drive"It was a Monday at 12:15, and if the motorway had been ready, Panos hadn't died".
The world stopped for her and her family. You can grasp that feeling only if you experience road fatality directly in your family or in a close circle of friends.
Even though more than 1.3 million persons die on the world's roads every year, it is an invisible pandemia. Till the moment, it gets close to you because it affects your loved ones.
With a solid and well-advanced career in telecommunication, Vassiliki decided to turn all her sadness, anger and unfair loss into something positive. A necessity: no more human losses on the streets of her country.
She sacrificed her career in the telecommunication space and, one year after Panos died, she set up the «Hellenic Research and Educational Institute for Road Safety, Prevention and Reduction of traffic accidents "Panos Mylonas"», an NGO dedicated to improving road safety.
Since then, Vassiliki, with tireless dedication and commitment, promoted many activities, engaging universities, institutions, and the private sector.
"No one should die as Panos did. We can prevent similar situations from happening".
A challenging day on that route.
"I drive at least 125,000 km per year, but on this very road, I don't feel safe, I get too emotional, particularly today".
Vaggelis, one of her talented staff (the Institute now counts 15 employees without the volunteers and freelance) took over the drive.
She told me about the countless activities promoted by the Institute: for children at schools; for tourists at the border when visiting her country; for students at the Universities; for citizens in public squares.
She built a network of support, because she strongly believe road safety should concern everybody, with no esclusions.
Involving everyone
"This is our message. It encourages a safe driving. You see? We have been mobilising everybody"
All Greek Community trust and respect her because she channelled an unfair loss into something positive for the society, implementing evidence-based programmes and contributing to saving lives.
That is also probably why one of the tunnels of the new motorway was entitled to Panos.
The day after I met Vassiliki, the Academy of Athens has awarded her and the Road Safety Institute “Panos Mylonas” with a distinction for Ethics and Political Sciences, for the year 2021, for their exceptional work in raising awareness on road safety and mobility education among citizens
Awards, recognitions, ceremonies help her to remember every day why she is dedicating her life to road safety and give her new strenghts to design new activities for the Foundation. The website of the R.S.I Panos Mylonas gives a concrete idea of the actions implemented and new projects are on the horizon.
"Here is where our new challenge: a training centre for safe mobility for professional drivers"
It is impressive to experience what she has created in Greece over the last few years.
Vassiliki suffered a tremendous loss, but she probably saved a thousand lives in Greece, thanks to her tireless work.
"Sometime things happen. You cannot imagine how strong you can be after such a loss, and sometimes things lift me up. That gives me strength to continue".
Vasiliki Danelli-Mylona
STORIES of HOPE. Simple stories of ordinary people that carry a message of hope, a fragment of future. I have been meeting incredible people, that transmit energy, passion, engagement. I talk to them and try to find their message of hope.
