AN urgent plea has been made for donations to a refugee centre for people arriving in Scotland from Ukraine.
The centre needs money to buy items including toiletries, clothing, UK electrical adaptors and toys for young children, all of which feature in an essentials welcome pack to help refugees settle in their first few days.
The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has partnered with the City of Edinburgh Council, Volunteer Edinburgh and other city partners to create a donation distribution hub at Gogarburn.
The hub is asking businesses and members of the public who want to help to donate towards the cost of these essential items.
The centre, staffed by RBS volunteers, welcomes refugees to Scotland and helps families and individuals to settle into their new home quickly. Paperwork is completed within the centre on the same day, meaning people can make necessary medical or legal appointments as soon as possible.
Staff from the City of Edinburgh Council are on hand to process entrance paperwork upon arrival, facilitate introductions with host families or find temporary accommodation for the many people who arrive without a place to stay.
To allow families and individuals to settle into their new home quickly and begin to adjust to life in Scotland, paperwork is completed within the centre on the same day. Relevant literature is provided as part of a Scottish Government-produced welcome pack. Everyone arriving at the Welcome Centre is also offered an essentials pack made up of donations.
Sheena Hales, who leads the Skillbank at RBS said: “While we have welcomed many Ukrainian people to Scotland through the doors of the Welcome Centre, the reality is that we know there are many more coming who have fled the horrors of war, leaving their lives and loved ones to seek safety here in Scotland.
“While handing out items like a toothbrush or colouring book might seem like a small act, everything we can do to help people feel as welcome as possible is hugely important.”
Culture Minister Neil Gray said: “The safety and welfare of displaced people from Ukraine ... is of paramount importance to the Scottish Government.
“The work undertaken by RBS and the other volunteer organisations in addition to this is extremely important, providing people with items to help them settle into Scotland.”
City of Edinburgh Council leader Cammy Day said Edinburgh’s people and businesses have been absolutely outstanding throughout this crisis, offering their unwavering support to Ukrainian people fleeing their homeland in these most desperate of times.”
Online donations can be made at the Donate4Ukraine page on GoFundMe, organised by Georgia Waterson, or directly to RBS’s Gogarburn hub marked FAO Skillbank.
