Brits gather mountains of donations for Afghan refugees arriving in UK

23 August 2021, 15:56

Donations for Afghan refugees flooding in across England

Communities around the UK have come out in full force to show their support for Afghan refugees who have been forced to flee their homes.

Huge mounds of bin bags filled with clothes, toys, books, furniture and more continue to grow around the country, in a bid to provide people with everything they need as they begin their new lives.

In Bushey, a synagogue was flooded with supplies for Afghan families after a Facebook request was met with "a tremendous act of love" from the local community.

Rabbi Elchonon Feldman, of the Bushey United Synagogue in Hertfordshire, sent a message to worshippers on a private Facebook page on Thursday night and then saw the donations pack out the venue's car park by Sunday lunchtime.

Everything, from children's books to buggies, is now being packed away into suitcases for families respectively, with anything left over going to other charities, according to the rabbi.

"My response was, 'I am absolutely sure we can help although I am not sure we can look after all of their requirement, but we can certainly try,'" he said.

"It went crazy. People copied the (Facebook) message. They forwarded it around and by the time Sunday arrived we had around may 3,000 bags (of items) that had been brought to help out."

He added: "It has been a tremendous act of love and completely run by volunteers who all just wanted to help. They are not just Jewish. The message ended up going far and wide and everyone just wanted to make a difference."

The size of the packages being given to refugees will depend on the amount of people in the family and the ages of the children.

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Meanwhile, Kirsty at Bideford Community Centre in Wythenshawe, Manchester said they had been met with urgent requests for toys, nappies and baby wipes.

She explained: "It brings it home to you - the reality of the fact that it's families that are here.

"Children, young children, teenagers... it must be so frightening and so traumatic for them."

She was blown away by the generosity of locals, saying: "It shows the kindness and it shows the community spirit.

"In Wythenshawe, if there is anything that’s ever needed, people just come together – it’s brilliant."

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In Newcastle, Emma Bell, the Project Manager at St Vincent’s Centre, put out an appeal for donations on Friday.

By Monday morning, she said she was overwhelmed by the support, having also had clothes, toys, food, and more dropped off.

Speaking about the difference everything would make, Ms Bell said: "[It’ll make a] huge difference because I think a lot of them are going to be coming with very, very little.

"When they get here, there’s not really going to be a great access to stuff, to access items.

"We’ll be able to kit them out with everything that they need.

"We can give them a full clothing pack and everything else they find they need.”