Queens, NY – The Greek Elder Care Network, in collaboration with the Hellenic American Project and The Eftychia Project, presented the first Hellenic-American Project Oral History Interview to be taped in front of a live audience on Saturday, September 14, 2024. The event was held at the Hellenic Cultural Center, 25-02 Newtown Ave, Queens, NY 11102.
This fascinating evening was open to the public and done in a talk show-style theater setting. Dr. Nicholas Alexiou, the founder and director of the Hellenic-American Project (HAP) and a sociology professor at Queens College, CUNY, interviewed Eftychia (Linda Carol Trotter), a Greek-born adoptee and the founder/president of the nonprofit organization, The Eftychia Project. The Eftychia Project, celebrating its fifth anniversary in 2024, assists and supports, free of charge, Greek adoptees searching for their roots and Greek families searching for their children lost to adoption.
This event helped to document the profound impact and historical significance of the adoptions abroad of thousands of Greek children, mainly to the USA, in the 1950s and 1960s, as well as raise awareness about this sad page of Greek history among the Greek diaspora and the general public. Dr. Alexiou led the conversation, bringing his extensive expertise and passion for preserving Hellenic-American history to the forefront. Eftychia (Linda Carol Trotter) sharedher own story, her work with The Eftychia Project, and its mission to amplify the voices of over 4,000 Greek-born adoptees, whose stories are often lost in the broader intercountry adoption narrative.
This live interview was a profoundly moving and informative experience, offering the audience a rare glimpse into personal stories of identity, heritage, and reunion. The interview will contribute to HAP’s extensive archives of the Hellenic American experience, which is recognized by the US Library of Congress. Following the interview, 12 Greek adoptees from 7 states joined Eftychia onstage to introduce themselves and share a bit about their own stories, and were able to discuss their stories with audience members in more depth at thereception that followed. While in town for the weekend for the event, adoptees gatherered together for Friday night dinner at Telly's Taverna, attended a Greek Festival at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in New Rochelle, NY and listened to music and danced at a local bouzoukia on Saturday, and visited the 9/11 Memorial and St, Nicholas National Shrine on Sunday.
