Meet The Greek Family in Thessaloniki That Has 12 Children

A family in Thessaloniki’s Oreokastro is growing…even after 11 children.
Zacharias and Demetra Veltsios have a happy family of 12 children, as Demetra is expecting their 12th child in the coming months.
The couple says that they are happy, as the most important thing for them is to be healthy and able to work to provide their children with everything they need.
Veltsios works in a trash truck in a nearby municipality and says that despite the difficult times, he is happy that his family has food and heating. “We may not be able to go on vacations all together, but we don’t really need it” he said in an interview with PolitisNews.
The oldest child is 17-year-old Efthymia, and the youngest, Manolis, is only two.
The couple remembers when an unknown man gave to the local priest an envelope with €11,000 ($12,750) telling him that the money needs to go to the family so that they can buy a suitable car that can fit all the members of the family.
They never learned who did this, but they are grateful until today.
As for their daily food, Veltsios says that this is an enormous task.
Demetra cooks around 3 kilograms of potatoes and chicken while the children also require 6 liters of milk and 5 loaves of bread — on a daily basis!
The family is thrilled that in the next few months a new baby is coming to the family, making it even larger.