A Hadfield woman who started a collection for Afghan refugees in Manchester says she's been amazed by people's generosity.

Rebecca Giles, 34, from Shawfield Road, only posted an appeal on social media last week – but since then she’s been inundated with donations.

She told the Chronicle: “I saw the plight of the Afghan refugees on the news and it really touched me. 

“We take so much for granted, but these people have nothing. They’ve arrived in a strange country with only the clothes they’re wearing. I saw an appeal by the charity ‘Care4Calais’ and I wanted to help out.

“People have been so generous. We have had thousands of donations, from baby clothes and toiletries to shoes and adult clothing. So many local businesses have helped out by becoming drop-off points. We have collected thousands of items.”

Rebecca added: “I just wasn’t anticipating how kind local people are. It’s not just donations, people have helped by collecting items from drop-off points, local businesses have offered storage, volunteers have been sorting the items for collection. 

“One lady was self-isolating. She wanted to help and she has an online store so she kindly sent us nappies and other baby essentials.”

The items have been transported to the ‘Care4Calais’ depot in Failsworth where they will be sorted again, then sanitised and given out to the refugees.

Rebecca, who has three children, added: “The children have been involved with the collection too. They were really excited to help sort the donations, plus I think they have learned a valuable lesson about how important it is to be kind to others. I’d like to thank everyone for their generosity. 

“I’ve been really overwhelmed by all the help I’ve had from everyone.”

Images by Nigel Wood

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