Rachel writes…

Like many other residents, we have been watching events unfold in refugee camps with a mixture of horror, compassion, sadness and disbelief. Many people in Forest Gate have already donated items for the camps in Calais (a big shout out to Jane and Anna who collected items after the very successful Jumble Trail) and a Forest Gate based group has already met together to discuss co-ordinating some action.

Now, every Community Neighbourhood area in Newham is holding a meeting to discuss how to raise funds for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

Our meeting is this coming Wednesday the 21st October, from 6.30pm until 8pm, at the Gate library. If you have an idea for an event you’d like to hold, or if you have a vague idea for an initiative that might help to raise funds, if you’re part of a group that wants to do something but doesn’t know where to start, then please do come along, we would love to have you there. The format of the meeting will depend on who comes along, and what they want to do, but depending on numbers we will aim to group people together to make plans, and will look at how we can support the things you want to organise.

There is a meeting taking place in each of the Community Neighbourhoods, and you can see this page of the Newham website for more information. If organising isn’t your thing but you’d like to donate, then you can make a donation online here.

If you’re interested in being involved, then do come along to the Gate this coming Wednesday, and I look forward to seeing you there.