The Association of Public Works of Mylopotamos Kythera is pleased to welcome the visit of the President of the Property of Kythera and Antikythera, Mr. E. Venardos, together with the President of the Community of Mylopotamos Mr. Nikos Magoulas and engineers of the Region, to the School of Anglicanism of Kato Chora.
In a Facebook post by the president of SKEM, Mr:
We were very pleased to learn of the visit of the President of the Property of Kythera and Antikythera, Mr. E. Venardos, together with the President of the Community of Mylopotamos Mr. Nikos Magoulas and engineers of the Region, to the School of Anglicanism of Kato Chora. We feel elated and justified that a long and persistent struggle, together with the KIPA, has come to a successful conclusion and foreshadows a brilliant development of our village and our island as a whole. We recall the history of this titanic effort and we do not lower the flag of our struggle for a Mylopotamos worthy of our dreams... We continue to fight...!!!!! We continue to dream...!!!!!!
Association of Public Works of Mylopotamos Kythera: 22 December 2020:
«....THE MILLERS WITH ALL THEIR MIGHT AND TOIL RAISED...IN DEDICATION TO THE POSTERITY...»
- Lower Country Anglican School...How we got here!
The above quote comes from the (grassy, blackened and illegible) inscription above the entrance of the English School, or more precisely the School of the English Rule in Kato Chora of Mylopotamos, as Mrs.Eleni Charou-Koronaiou informs us in «Kythiraika», along with a wealth of touching historical data, unknown to most of us:
https://www.kythiraika.gr/i-allilodidaktiki-scholi…/….
However, as much as our knowledge of such an emblematic building of our village is unjustifiably incomplete, our collective complaint about the aesthetic deprivation that it and its neighbouring Venetian castle provided, due to years of indifference and abandonment, was just as intense.
And it was this collective grievance that made so strong our fervent desire to see them one day come back to life, reflecting all their historical beauty and grandeur!
In fact, the more daring among us, had some timid dreams, when they compared Kato Chora with the glorious castle town of Monemvasia....
So, when, in the summer of 2017, a handful of young and romantic people, in love with Mylopotamos, its history, its legends and traditions, decided to take the fate of the place of their ancestors in their hands, reactivating the Association of Public Benefit Projects of Mylopotamos Kythera, which had been inactive and devalued for many years.
These people, all of them well-established in their professional fields, contributing from their spare time, set some perhaps grandiose goals, in relation to the years of stagnation they were called upon to succeed.
One of these objectives was the restoration, renovation and landscaping of the School of the Anglo-Craftsmanship of Kato Chora, together with its square (Tsigoura), with the aim and the intended purpose of housing the many cultural and folklore relics of the village, as well as a variety of scientific, artistic and educational activities, in the context of its operation as a Spiritual Centre.
And of course, the idea didn't come out of nowhere.
Already in 2007, the Commission of the Property of Kythera-Antikythera had granted the use of the two schools of the British rule (Milapidea of Livadi and Kato Chora of Mylopotamos) to the Kythira Foundation for Culture and Development (KIPA), whose President at that time was the ardent Tsirigotis, Emeritus Professor of Constitutional Law, Georgios Kasimatis.
In 2008, KIPA funded the «Study for the repair and change of use of an old Anglo-Cratian school, into a hall for cultural events in Kato Chora Mylopotamos in Kythera», which was prepared by our compatriot Civil Engineer, Mr. Georgios Faceas, in July 2008.
In this document (excerpts of which are attached herewith), it is stated that «the intention of the owner of the property is to repair and maintain the building of the old school and to use it in the future as a hall for cultural events».
On August 1, 2008, the KIPA submitted a permit application with an attached study file to the 1st Ephorate of Byzantine Antiquities of the Ministry of Culture.
This service, with its decision number 6551/21-9-2009, provided a permit for the repair-restoration of the building, under certain conditions, reserving the right to provide a permit for a change of use of the building, after the submission of a study of the landscaping of the surrounding area, from which specific proposed events would emerge and the way of the necessary internal and external electromechanical installations would be fully described.
This was followed by 8 years of absolute inactivity, without any development, without any interest, especially from the Mylopotamians themselves!
In June 2017, with the initiative of a few ardent lovers of Mylopotamos and the impressive rallying of a multitude of people who, as if they were anxiously waiting for that moment, the Association of Public Benefit Projects of Mylopotamos was reactivated, electing the provisional and shortly afterwards the statutory governing bodies.
The response of the people who loved the village was more than touching and very soon the production of basic public utility work began, along with the growing financial strength of the Association.
The «long-term strategy» drawn up by the Association included the utilization of the «dormant» independent Community institutions, the solution to the long-standing problem of water pollution of the Kamari and the waterfall of Fonissa and the restarting of the restoration process of the English School of Kato Chora.
In the context of the third objective, the President of the Association contacted the then President of KIPA, Professor Georgios Kasimatis, who welcomed with great satisfaction and enthusiasm the renewed interest of the Mylopotamian community, declaring his determination to «run» this study, together with the one of the «brother» English School of Milapidea.
On 13 May 2019, a meeting was held at the office of the then Vice-Regional Governor of the Region of Attica, Mr. Panagiotis Hadjiperrou, between him, the (already) Honorary President of KIPA, Prof. George Kasimatis, the (already) newly elected and co-chairman of KIPA, Mr. George Kasimatis, as well as the President of the Association of Public Works of Mylopotamos, Mr. Panagiotis Stratigiou.
At this meeting and despite the strong support of the then Deputy Head of the Region for the idea of restoring both schools, it was noted that their studies were not ready for inclusion in the Region's budget, since the corresponding financial studies and technical provisions for parking and toilet facilities were missing.
The slight disappointment at the temporary halt in progress was quickly replaced by more perseverance in trying to achieve the goal by all concerned.
It was decided that both Schools join in a single funding request to the District and a single expense for financial studies.
With its decision, the Board of our Association accepted the proposal of its President, for a symbolic participation of 500€ in this expense, which would be paid by the KIPA.
At the same time, the Association, through its President, asked the Engineer Mr. George Faceas to draw up a study for the creation of toilets in the surrounding area of the School, given that the competent services of the Ministry of Culture had already ruled out the prospect of creating a parking area in Kato Chora.
Our compatriot Mr. Faceas, willingly and selflessly prepared this study, which was added to the project's application file for inclusion in the Region's budget.
On February 7, 2020, KIPA submitted a formal request to the Region of Attica for the inclusion of the two projects in the 2021 Regional Budget.
On 14 July 2020, the President of the Association, Mr. Panagiotis Stratikos, together with the President of KIPA, Mr. Georgios Kasimatis, met with the new Vice-Regional Governor of the Islands, Ms. Vasiliki Theodorakopoulou-Bogris, at her office in Piraeus.
At the meeting, which was held in the presence of the former Vice-Regional Governor of the Islands, Mr. P. Hadjiperrou, the complete files (Technical and Financial Study) for the renovation of the English Schools of Kato Chora Mylopotamos and Milapidea Livadi were submitted. The Vice-Regional Governor showed great interest in the financing of these two projects and committed to their inclusion in the Region's Budget for 2021, provided that they receive the approval of the Mayor of Kythera.
The Mayor of Kythera, Mr. Efstratios Harhalakis, once informed by the President of KIPA, immediately gave his consent and endorsed the request to include the project in the budget of the Region.
The success of the whole project came with the happy news on 17 December 2020, when the Budget of the Region of Attica was passed, which included the paragraph:
«Restoration, maintenance and promotion of the School of the Anglo-Craftsmanship of Kythera in Kato Chora Mylopotamos
-C.A.E. Region: 08.072.97220800401
- Contracting Authority: the Commission for the Property of Kythira Antikythera / Kythira Foundation for Culture and Development
- Budget: 225.000€»
Our Association warmly thanks all those who contributed to the achievement of this ambitious goal, which opens wide the doors of landscaping, promotion and upgrading of the beautiful Mylopotamos.
However, we are not complacent and we do not lower the flag of our struggle!
Our justifiable joy is quickly giving way to determination, until both this project and the others that our country needs take shape.
We continue to fight...
We keep dreaming...!
