Another Project Hope for Greece grant was fulfilled on July 28, 2017 to Mama Maria, a selfless woman who has cooked thousands of meals for refugees arriving on her island of Samos.
Back in 2015 she transformed her Taverna into a make-shift shelter, feeding dozens at a time and laying out blankets at night to people who couldn’t find shelter.
Although she’s lost count, conservative estimates are that she’s distributed thousands of meals to people in need, especially during the influx of arrivals in 2015-16.
Maria was recognized by various news outlets and even the United Nations, which featured her work in a video that went viral online.
Thanks to the generous women of Saints Peter and Paul Greek Orthodox Church in Glenview, IL, the Greek America Foundation facilitated a $10,000 grant to purchase gift certificates from the local grocery store so Mama Maria can continue to buy food and cook for the thousands of refugees still living in camps on her island, as well as dozens who arrive regularly.
With the help of the Saints Peter and Paul Philoptochos, Maria will be able to prepare more than 800 meals every month for the next six months.
Maria, touched by the gift from the women of the Chicagoland area church, expressed her appreciation with a special gift in the form of a family heirloom hand-embroidered tablecloth that’s been in her possession for almost a century. Her mother, who arrived on the island of Samos as a refugee from Asia Minor in 1922, brought the table cloth in a chest with other family possessions.
Mama Maria’s gift to the women of Saints Peter and Paul Greek Orthodox Church in Glenview, IL