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Over £10,000 raised for Tameside families hit by Covid by Syria Relief

Despite being famous for their charity work in Syria, Denton-based Syria Relief have raised over £10,000 and set up a foodbank from scratch in order to support families in Tameside throughout the lockdown.

Syria Relief were driven to do this during the early stages of lockdown after some of Tameside's foodbanks were forced to close - often due to panic buying and demand outstripping supply - and helped to fill food provision gaps.

Dr Shameela Islam-Zulfiqar - a medical doctor with years of experience working in the NHS - has led the project for Syria Relief. 

She said: "This could not have been possible without a dedicated 120 strong volunteer group of drivers, student cooks, packers and logistical support from all backgrounds. We have been able to deliver 400 basic essential shopping bags to the elderly and isolated vulnerable households over six months (April to September).

“We have also supplied over 10,000 hot meals to the homeless and vulnerable households since March of this year across Tameside and Manchester.

“This has been in collaboration with Tameside outreach services: (Tameside veteran community, We shall Overcome, Tameside Council), Myriad Foundation, SPIN (Supporting People in Need), As Salaam Centre outreach, APPSUK and we are still continuing to connect with other frontline service providers. I am also liaising with Tameside BAME network to explore how we can provide support for the BAME community- who face an increased risk from Covid-19 and have poorer outcomes of recovery." 

She added: “In partnership with the Union of Catholic mothers, Action Together and Age Concern, we have also been able distribute 500 healthcare packs donated in kind by Everest Pharmacy Group with scope to do more as leaflets are being distributed throughout this second lockdown period.

“We are the only group to have continuously supplied weekly hot meals since March and are continuing to build capacity both locally and in other cities by expanding our student group of batch cooks by training more people with skills for community cooking and reducing food poverty for the most vulnerable in our communities.

“I have been approached by Salford College to teach batch cooking to the catering students there and am currently looking into ways that we can expand the class sizes by virtual teaching methods so students further away can also access the skills remotely and build capacity for food provision where they live to support vulnerable people." 

Denton MP Andrew Gwynne has congratulated the charity for their efforts during the lockdown.

He said: “Syria Relief is an absolutely fantastic local charity that does amazing – and often dangerous – work supporting those caught up in the Syrian Civil War.

“Whilst the charity is very well known for their work in Syria, I’d like to congratulate them on all that they have done locally here in Tameside to help people through the difficult period of the lockdown – running a foodbank, providing vulnerable people with essentials and hot meals, and distributing healthcare packs.

“We are very lucky to have such a fantastic charity right here in Denton, and I’d particularly like to thank Dr Shameela Islam-Zulfiqar for all her hard work co-ordinating this lockdown work.”

You can support Syria Relief's fundraising appeal by visiting their JustGiving page here: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/covidemergencyresponse

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