An ex-head boy has co-founded a charity to help displaced young men who arrive in Greece.

Cosmo Murray, 29, set up the housing charity Mazí with three friends, after becoming increasingly concerned about the plight of refugees arriving in Europe.

Believing that how we treat the most vulnerable in our society defines who we are, Cosmo said: "Our aim is not our own personal profit but a desire to enable
lasting social change."

"If we aren't making someone else's life better, we're wasting
our time on this beautiful planet. Kindness - being kind - is one of the most basic things we teach our children."

Cosmo added that the privilege we find ourselves in in Britain, which he says is "one of the safest and most prosperous societies humanity has ever created", is not at risk by granting people asylum.

"It is only at risk when we are more afraid of each other and newcomers than
reaching out."

The former Hitchin Boys' School head boy, who studied Law at Bristol, was
involved in several community projects on home soil before moving to Greece in
2019, where he volunteered as a caseworker an asylum support team.

He believes solo young men in particular are seen as a threat in the asylum
context: "They're regarded as outsiders, foreigners, possible terrorists. Yet, some of the gentlest and most generous humans I've ever met have been asylum-seeking young men in Italy and Greece."

Cosmo, who has been working through the most recent lockdown at his parents'
home in Lilley, is establishing Mazí in the UK.

Mazí provides accommodation as well as material and social assistance to
young displaced homeless men who have no other support network. The organisation now has 19 residents and two apartments, and
with the aim to develop the programme.

Cosmo hopes to bring vacant derelict buildings in Athens back into functional use.

Alongside his work with the charity, Cosmo has started fundraising to furnish the apartments and provide warm clothing for the young men they're
hoping to help lead independent lives.

He hopes to take part in a marathon in May between Marathon and Athens to give the charity a further boost.

For more information on the Mazí Housing Project, visit mazihousingproject.org.