A GLASGOW granny has just completed a once in a lifetime trip to see the impact her volunteering has had on refugees and migrants in Greece.

Amelia Egan has volunteered for Oxfam for the past decade and ahead of the charity’s 75th anniversary, she joined other volunteers on the trip last month which was organised to showcase the impact of donations to Oxfam’s Refugee Crisis Appeal.

The 75-year-old, who volunteers in Oxfam’s shop in Newton Mearns, was joined on the trip by three other people who also dedicate their free time to the charity.

They were Margot Edwards, 83, from Kent, Tom Kelly 66, from Liverpool and Beth Havard, 56, from Swansea who all travelled together to camps and a community centre in the north-west of Greece where they saw the impact of Oxfam’s work and met people the charity is supporting.

Between them, the group have nearly 60 years of volunteering service.

Amelia, who lived in Glasgow’s South Side for most of her life before moving to Newton Mearns, said: “I was surprised to be picked for the trip for a start. I really thought I was just going out there to make up the numbers.”

She added: “I had no idea what to expect. Obviously the situation in Greece is not good but since Oxfam has gone in there - there has been improvements.

“The work that they are doing makes things tolerable. For example in one of the camps they set up, it started with tents but now it has containers. That doesn’t sound good but it is much better than living in a tent.”

Since October 2015, Oxfam has helped over 100,000 people stuck in limbo on Greece’s mainland and on the island of Lesvos with clean water, sanitation, shelter, communal kitchens, food, hygiene kits and safe spaces for vulnerable women and children.

During her trip, retired Chemistry teacher Amelia met with one of the families at the Doliana refugee and migrant camp who have benefited from Oxfam’s help.

Ahmed, 31, Fatima, 25, and their two-year-old son Mohammed fled to Greece from Syria.

Ahmad was a tailor and had his own business. He and his family left everything behind. They tried to reach Greece five times before the last attempt, which was successful. His wife Fatima, who was pregnant, had a miscarriage and was still unwell.

Mother-of-three Amelia, who is also grandmother to Harry, 13, said: “This is the first time I have visited Oxfam’s work and it was inspiring to see how some of the money from the Refugee Crisis Appeal has been spent. Amongst the many people we met it was upsetting to find young people who have been separated from their parents and have no idea when, if ever, they are going to be reunited. Hearing Fatima’s story was also heartbreaking.”

Oxfam was set up as the Oxford Committee for Famine Relief on October 5 1942, and its first campaign called for the Allied blockade in World War II to be relaxed to allow vital food and aid to reach hungry people in Greece and elsewhere in Europe.

Since then it has grown into a global confederation working in 90 countries to end poverty and suffering. Last year, Oxfam helped more than 22 million people worldwide.

Before her trip, Amelia visited the Bodleian Library in Oxford to see photos and documents from the charity’s history. She met with Professor Kalypso Nicolaidis whose grandparents were Greek refugees in 1922 and spoke to her father about his memories of the famine.