A KEIGHLEY woman who travelled to Greece to assist refugees said she intends to return to this country to help provide an education to displaced youngsters.

Aisha Ali Khan, who is a teacher, is back from a week-long visit to Greece where she travelled alongside Yorkshire-based organisations the Moonlight Trust and Opening Boundaries.

"I wanted to see for myself what the situation was like on the ground," she said.

"I was told that many refugees had started to move out of the official UN funded camps because of the extreme cold weather, and were now living in abandoned buildings in and around Athens.

"These squats are not being funded by any official organisation and rely solely on donations and help from individuals or not-for-profit organisations.

"One of these groups is called the Hope Café and is the brainchild of British woman Kerrie Moor.

"Kerrie spent some time working with Syrian refugees in Turkey and Lesbos, but has now decided to base herself in Athens and aims to officially open the Hope Café in a matter of weeks.

"It will offer free, hot meals daily as well as provide items of need to refugees such as shoes, clothing, nappies and authentic baby milk.

"While in Athens, we delivered fresh food to one of the squats, including meat, vegetables, fruit and eggs.

"Earlier we attended a birthday party for a nine-year-old in the same squat. His mother Skyped her husband throughout the party, as he's currently in Germany, ensuring that he wouldn’t miss out on his son’s birthday.

"According to unofficial figures, as many as 70 per cent of child refugees in Athens are not receiving any kind of schooling.

"So I intend to go back to Athens very soon with the sole aim of teaching the children and mothers living in squats across the city."

Ms Khan went to Greece last month (Feb) with Dewsbury-based Moonlight Trust founder Nousheen Raja and Opening Boundaries volunteers Ikram Butt and Halima Khan.

Mr Butt is a former England Rugby League player.