For this year's spring break, Katie Holmes forewent staycations and island escapes in favour of something with a more humanitarian focus: the Dawson's Creek actress journeyed to Greece last week to volunteer at the Moria Refugee Camp, a facility inhabited by many Syrian families.
The camp, situated on the island of Lesbos, is home to around 5,000 asylum seekers and migrants, who also hail from Iraq and Afghanistan. Moria made headlines last year for its "dangerous" living conditions, reported The Guardian, with families cramped into squashed, squalid quarters.
Holmes made the visit with community-based public arts organisation Artolution.
The Batman Begins star created artworks with women and children at the camp, and documented her stay with her 1.6 million Instagram followers.
"I am so grateful for this experience of working with and getting to know these incredible women; their hearts are so kind," the 40-year-old captioned one shot, as young girls painted hearts on a large piece of paper.
"I love these women who became our friends as we collaborated on many different projects this week," Holmes added.
"I am so very grateful for this experience. The resilience of these women is so profound and truly inspiring to witness, and I pray for refugees everywhere."
The actress was joined by her daughter Suri, who she shares with ex-husband Tom Cruise, on the trip, sharing a rare glance at the 12-year-old in her images.
The schoolgirl, who turns 13 next month, was pictured clapping hands with a young camp resident in the portrait.
Holmes's trip formed part of her work as a global ambassador for Artolution, which aims to use art initiatives to promote social change.
The star also taught performance skills to those in the camp, the charity added on its Instagram page, thanking Holmes for her "support and working on the ground with us in Greece".
The Moria camp faced closure last year, after being described as "dangerous for public health and the environment".
At the time, more than 8,000 people were found to be living in the facility, which was initially built to house just 2,000.
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