By Bejay Browne.
Volunteers in Paphos are desperate for food donations to feed hundreds of refugees that are living in the town and the numbers are growing.
“People are ringing me regularly and they literally don’t have any food. I turn up with some, but it is only short term solution,” Caritas, Paphos, coordinator, Wendy Burdon, said.
Volunteers are appealing to local supermarkets and shops to encourage them to make regular donations to the charity of close to date, or out of date food items that are still safe to eat. The charity would be able to arrange collection and distribution of the goods.
“This would really be an enormous help as we know of people that don’t have anything,” she said.
In the meantime, non perishable goods, such as canned goods, rice, pasta, sugar and flour may be made and Caritas is also looking for a new store room in central Paphos.
This would enable them to better allocate food into bags for delivery, store both clothes and donated items, and if large enough, to also house furniture items.
For many asylum seekers and refugees in Cyprus, just surviving day to day is a struggle. There is currently only one government run reception center and thousands of people are having to fend for themselves, and to find shelter wherever possible. Cyprus is planning a second reception centre and a separate space for the most vulnerable groups.
Caritas also initiated ‘The Learning Refuge’ in central Paphos which aims to improve the lives of refugees by teaching them language skills and providing assistance wherever possible.
“We also always need things like nappies, feminine hygiene items, toiletries and underwear,” she said.
As the weather is becoming colder, there is also a real need for warm clothes, shoes, coats and blankets,as many refugees escaped during the warmer months with only the clothes they were wearing.
“Some only have flip- flops, shorts and summer clothes,” she said.
Any financial allowances available to refugees are just not enough to cover their needs and can also take a long time to come through.
The number of asylum seekers in Cyprus is set to exceed 3.5 per cent of the population, according to Interior Minister Constantinos Petrides. If the current trend continues Cyprus will have 100,000 asylum seekers, refugees and economic migrants in just five years, he said.
To help : Caritas Coordinator : 99040294
The Learning Refugee : www.facebook.com/learningrefuge
Caritas Facebook : Caritas Cyprus-Κοινωνία
