Fundraising campaign to ship aid to refugee camps

SHETLAND Solidarity with Refugees has launched an online donations page to raise money to help ship its latest collection of donations to camps in Lebanon, Calais and Greece.

The group has a goal of £1,000 and by Friday afternoon about one third had been pledged.

The money raised will go to humanitarian organisation ReAct Refugee Action Scotland, which will collect the donated aid items on the mainland before distributing them across the world.

It is expected that Shetland Solidarity with Refugees will send around eight pallets of donations south next Saturday (28 April).

“We’re donating it to ReAct, because they will be taking their vehicle and getting their container shipped out to Calais, Samos and Lebanon this time,” volunteer Rita Smith said.

“It’s to help with their funding for the passage of the stuff that’s being shipped out.”

Smith added that it was “amazing” to see the amount of aid items still being donated by locals at the group’s base at Brevik House in Lerwick.

Anyone wanting to sort donations is invited to help out at Brevik House on Saturday (21 April) from 11am.