'Mamie Charge': Migrants find safe haven in Frenchwoman's garage

Calais, France: Brigitte Lips opens her home in northern France every weekday to dozens of migrants seeking a moment of calm and a phone charger...

Calais, France: Brigitte Lips opens her home in northern France every weekday to dozens of migrants seeking a moment of calm -- and a phone charger -- despite some pushback from the local community.

On a drizzly day in November, dozens of young people sit in the 68-year-old's garage in the port city of Calais, where around a hundred chargers line the walls and hot drinks are on offer.

Word about "Mamie Charge" (Granny Charger) has passed throughout the migrant community -- she is known as someone who offers a moment of respite and a place to juice up their phones, essential during the often-dangerous trek north.

"She is an amazing woman, a true support for refugees like us who are homeless," said Pedros, a migrant from the east African county of Eritrea who hopes to settle in France.