The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Tayside reaches out to Syrians
AID: Shipment of key donations reaches refugee camps
A shipment of clothes and toiletries donated by generous Tayside residents has safely reached Syrian refugee camps.
Around 25 tonnes of clothes, as well as 5,000 bars of soap collected by Dundee Refugee Support were transported by a haulage company hired by the group.
The goods made it all the way to camps just north of Aleppo, as well as Serbia, where many refugees are stranded in poor sanitary conditions.
Dundee Refugee Support chairman Mike Strachan said: “The items were donated to us over a two-week period.
“In Syria we distributed mostly clothes, but the shipment to Serbia contained soap as well.
“Hygiene is an issue there and keeping clean can be very difficult – there aren’t just a hundred or so people in these camps, we are talking tens of thousands.
“These are people that have fled their homes with very little, often just the clothes on their backs.
These are people that have fled their homes with very little, often just the clothes on their backs.
“We occasionally get letters from refugees, mostly when they’ve made it to a safe haven, and they are just so elated to know there are people out there thinking about them and wanting to help.
“A lot of these people were not poor in their home country – they were professionals and had a nice life before the conflict started.”
Mike said that as Dundee Refugee Support receives no funding, every cash donation goes directly towards paying the haulage firms to transport the items.
He added: “We always appreciate clothes donations but we are also trying to raise funds so that we can actually get these clothes to where they’re needed.
“Every penny people donate literally helps put clothes on people’s backs.
“As always we’d like to say a massive thank you to the people of Dundee, Tayside, Fife and Angus for all making this possible.”
For more information on Dundee Refugee Support visit www.dundee thecaringcity.co.uk.