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How you can help the Afghan Refugee Scheme

BAVO is supporting the efforts of Bridgend County Borough Council in relation to the Afghan Refugee Scheme.

Both BCBC and BAVO are already receiving enquiries from charities who want to help and people who want to volunteer or donate.  This is so heartwarming, we are very grateful for the kind offers and it shows just how welcoming people are in our County.

BCBC is currently expecting just 2 or 3 families but much is dependent on accommodation availability.   As the situation unfolds we will be in a better position to identify exactly what the needs will be, exactly how many families might be relocated to the area and when.  At the moment, none of this information is available.

BCBC statement

How you can help

Because the number of people coming to Bridgend County may be relatively small, there is currently no requirement for items to be donated and we are not asking for any donations of the following items at this stage.

However, this situation might change and you are invited to keep checking this page periodically.

At this stage, we are inviting Landlords, businesses, voluntary and community groups and individuals that may be able to help with any of the following,  to email us  and let us know if you might be able to help with the following in future (and if needed by the families).

We need to stress gain, we are currently just at the preparation stage and not asking for donations at the moment.

Goods that might be needed, such as:

• Baby equipment (such as prams and cots)
• Clothes – these will be specific to the families needs rather than generic donation drives
• Electrical goods (such as mobile phones and televisions)
• Kitchenware
• Toys
• Good quality household Furniture
• White goods (fridges/ cookers/ washing machines etc).

Housing might be needed, such as:

Vacant residential property.   The house or flat must be:

• self-contained with no shared facilities
• available for a period of at least 12 months

Settling in support might be needed, such as:

• Befriending or companionship
• Conversational English
• Showing people around the area
• Transportation and errand running

Specialist services might be needed, such as

• English to speakers of other languages (ESOL)
• Legal services
• Mental health services
• Physical health and wellbeing (such as physiotherapy)
• Tutoring and mentoring (such as paired reading)

Details of your offer

Please email bavo@bavo.org.uk and add as much information about your offer as you can, such as quantities of items (condition new/used) or how much time you’re able to commit as a service provider.

If you are interested in volunteering, please visit our  volunteering portal for up to date vacancies or contact Sharonheadon@bavo.org.uk. – we may be able to put you in touch with support organisations who would value your skills, even if you can only offer a small amount of time only on a short term basis.

If you are looking at donating funding, please email finance@bavo.org.uk

To support national activity, you. may wish to refer to the  Wales Refugee Council website.