Five loaves and 6 liters of milk every day: The life of a family with 11 children in Thessaloniki
This Greek family from Oreokastro is doing the rounds of the internet, which has neither one nor two, but 11 children and is going for the 12th.
Ο Zacharias Veltsios and his wife Demeter They have created a beautiful family with their 11 children in Oreokastro, Thessaloniki and in a short time they are preparing to welcome their 12th child. But what is life like in a house with 13 people?
Working as a garbage truck attendant in a neighboring municipality, the 42-year-old father does everything he can to ensure that nothing is missing from his family.
"Thank God. We have not been deprived of anything, neither the food nor the heating "
"The needs are many but they do not bother us. Everything is fought if there is health, if you are well with your man and you have no complaints. "I do everything to save some money and we are happy for our large family", says Zacharias with the disarming optimism that distinguishes him:
"Thank God. We have not been deprived of anything, neither food nor heating. We can heat with wood but the house is warm. I believe we live like kings! We have everything. Of course we can not, for example, all go on vacation together, but we do not miss them ", underlines.
As for the mother of the family, although the upbringing and care of the children is a daily task, she notes that "I do not feel that I am doing something very difficult", as she notes, everyone helps depending on their age and abilities.
17-year-old Efthymia and 15-year-old Anna -excellent students both- undertake part of the daily obligations concerning Vassilis who goes to the XNUMXrd Gymnasium, George of the XNUMXst Gymnasium, Christoforos (XNUMXth Grade), Iakovos (D 'Dimotikou), Stefanos (C' Dimotikou), Sofia (A 'Dimotikou), the twins Niko and Nestora who this year go to kindergarten and the only two year old Manolis.
"The whole society embraced us"
Zacharias and Dimitra have been living in Oreokastro since 2009 and are impressed by the embrace that the society of the area has opened for them and their family.
At that time they had six children and could not find an apartment that met their needs, but also the money they could allocate through the loan they were entitled to from the Workers' Housing Organization. And in Oreokastro they found what they wanted.
"The whole society embraced us. The inhabitants of Oreokastro are very good. There are people around us who do real work without asking for help ", state Zacharias and Dimitra who have been together for 22 years and believe that "If you have faith, God is by your side. And it does not help you by sending you a sack of flour, but by sending good people on your way ".
"The love of the world is another matter. We did not meet a bad person "
"The love of the world is another matter. We did not meet a bad person. Wherever we go the doors are open. The Virgin Mary is our strength and our protector ", points out Zacharias.
«"Even our car was donated by two strangers when we were living in Naples", says Zacharias and describes how: "They gave a file to a priest in Evosmos with 11.000 euros and asked him to hand it over to me to buy a car that meets our needs, because we had an old one that was bothering us. And we never found out who they were. "
However, the way in which they managed to buy the house in Oreokastro is a small miracle for the young couple.
«Before taking the loan, the broker asked for a deposit of 4.000 euros, an amount we did not have. Seeing this weakness of ours but also our persistence for our home, he said: "What are you waiting for, your mother to fall from heaven?", remember today Zacharias and Dimitra who managed, at the expiration of the deadline, to find the money. And the solution that was given to them was "mother from heaven".
They were then citizens of the Municipality of Thessaloniki and - as a friend informed them - the municipality at that time granted the amount of 3.000 euros in gift vouchers to large families with more than four children. But that year the allowance was decided to be paid in cash.
"Theon Monday when we got the 3.000 euros. Zacharias was paid his salary and so we added another 1.000 euros and on Thursday - the last day of the deadline we had - we gave the deposit to start the process and get the house", The young mother remembers.
Five loaves and 6 liters of milk every day
As for the amount that the family needs to be fed daily, this, of course, is quite large.
It is typical that only for lunch Dimitra will have to prepare two pans, with at least -for example- three kilos of potatoes and 12-13 chicken legs, while the family needs 5 loaves and 6 liters of milk every day which "do not reach if combined with cornflakes".
But a large toast with 20 slices of cheese and 20 slices of turkey may not arrive in the morning for school, while so many other quantities are needed for the children's afternoon or evening snack. At least five kilos of potatoes must be cleaned if the children want them in the pan, while the evening menu also includes fruits.
A significant burden for the large family is the purchase of stationery for school, as at the beginning of the year they need at least 50 euros for each child, ie at least 500 euros for the 10 children who go to different school levels.
«The family budget is not enough but we will manage it. "First we will buy the stationery for the older children and then for the younger ones", said Zacharias.
However, the significant donation of school bags to the family was made by a local company with the intervention of the Deputy Mayor of Social Policy, Petros Atamian.
17-year-old Efthymia "aims" at Nomiki
An excellent student is the first-born Efthymia who is studying in the XNUMXrd Lyceum and her dream is Law and her second goal is Philology.
The 17-year-old never went to tutoring, but this year her parents decided to send her so that she could achieve her goal even though the cost was high - from 2.700 to 3.300 euros. However, a caregiver gave them the option of the scholarship, Efthymia passed the necessary exams and finally won it, obtaining a 100% discount on the cost of tuition.
Source: politisnews.gr