Together We Grow is collecting clothes and wellies to go to the Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh this Friday. So if you have any of these items you can drop them at Warcock Hill Barn, Long Causeway, Blackshaw Head, Hebden Bridge, HX77JB, tel 01422 846863 or 07511213449. Another container will go in October.
According to the UN there are now 313,000 Rohingyan refugees in Bangladesh and they expect it will soon be half a million. You may have seen on the TV screen that most of them live in mud – hence the need for wellies.
17-20,000 people demonstrated in London in front of the Embassy and Downing Street in support of the Rohingyan refugees. We need the UK government to send help to these refugees. Tens of thousands of them live in unofficial camps and do not receive help from the international NGOs or the Bangladeshi government but are dependent on private support – often from the local communities that are themselves poor.
It is amazing what has been donated since our urgent appeal went out on Monday – see indoor picture.
Some people have said they will bring some for the container going in October.
Together We Grow has decided to donate all its 43 wellies and 20 walking boots to the refugee camps in Bangladesh – see picture of black bin bags in a car. We have used these wellies and boots when the refugees visited our area – to grow food in a garden, to work in the community orchard or walk to a smallholding. We will slowly build up a new supply for these activities over the coming months.
When we delivered a car full of wellies and clothes for the refugees in Bangladesh the weekly soup kitchen was in full swing at the old magistrates court with about 40-50 people wanting food and a dozen helpers – all organised by the Asian community in Rochdale.
