Nurses step out to help Yemen victims
TWO NHS nurses are seeking to raise awareness and funds for the ongoing crisis in Yemen by completing a charity walk.
Sofia Ali, 26, from Spotland, will be completing an 18-mile route from Liverpool to Southport on August 10 alongside her friend Kirsten Trafford, 24, from Manchester, to raise money for Human Relief Foundation’s Yemen Emergency Appeal.
According to UNICEF, Yemen is currently facing ‘the largest humanitarian crisis in the world’ following years of brutal civil war, in which a Britishbacked Saudi Arabian coalition has intervened.
Funds raised from the walk will help to provide food packages to those displaced in the country, where an estimated 80 per cent of the population, including 12 million children, are in need of humanitarian aid.
Sofia, who lives on Edmund Street with her parents Dildar and Sharafat, said the pair had wanted to complete a charity challenge together for some time, but were moved by reading social media posts about the growing crisis in the country.
She said: “When we looked into the Yemen crisis, we found the most heart wrenching facts.
“We were astounded to learn that the world’s biggest humanitarian crisis is not on the front page of every paper, and disgusted to learn about Britain’s involvement in providing arms to the Saudi government.
“The British public does not condone or support violence. We do not want to be recognised as a society that played a part in the extinction of a nation.”
Sofia and Kirsten, who work at Fairfield General Hospital and Manchester Royal Infirmary respectively, are preparing for their 18-mile challenge with their daily walks during lockdown, although Sofia added: “We’re on our feet all day at work anyway, so it’s just like another shift really!”
The two friends are now close to reaching their £2,000 fundraising target, with £1,000 raised in the first week of their campaign alone.
Sofia said: “We really underestimated how much people would donate.
“We’re just upping our target so hopefully we can raise as much as we can.”
The duo have received backing from Rochdale MP Tony Lloyd, who has written to Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab asking him to halt arms sales to Saudi Arabia and lead international efforts to resolve the crisis.
Mr Lloyd said: “I’m proud of Sofia and Kirsten’s efforts to raise awareness of what is happening in Yemen.
“The Covid-19 pandemic takes up much of the news output in Britain, and the crisis doesn’t have much coverage in the media.
“Sofia and Kirsten are right to feel outraged at Britain’s role in the arms exports to Saudi Arabia, which might be used in Yemen, and I have written to the Minister for International Trade urging for its cancellation.
“The government should follow Sofia and Kirsten’s lead, and provide humanitarian action to prevent the crisis from spiraling into an irreparable disaster.”
Donations to Sofia and Kirsten’s campaign can be made at www.justgiving. com/fundraising/kirstensofia.