"Melissa", a word meaning "bee" in Greek, is the name a network of migrant women from Asia, Africa and the Balkans living in Greece, established in 2014. Their offices are in Victoria Square, near a park where, last August, a great number of refugees and migrants were camping out.

The Melissa women took action to help the children by preparing and distributing 170 to 220 servings of nutritious breakfast every morning.

"If not us, then who? If we, who are women, mothers and immigrants, don’t give a helping hand to the refugee children, who will"?, they note in an interview with Kathimerini.

After the establishment of the Eleonas refugee camp alleviated the situation in the park, the busy bees of Melissa participated in the "A Backpack for the Road" initiative: uniting forces with "Together for the Children" and under the auspices of the City of Migrant Integration Council, they prepared backpacks with the basic necessities for the refugee children’s rough journey ahead, which included a first-aid kit, cereal bars, a whistle, a notepad, crayons and a small toy for each child, trying to offer them also some joy and hope.

See more: Settled Migrants in Greece Reach Out To Help Newcomers