Supporting Afghan refugees
It’s hard to imagine what it would be like leaving home with no time to say goodbye and to arrive in a different country far away, with only the clothes you’re wearing.
We know around 8,000 Afghans and their children fled to the UK at the end of the summer and charities, faith centres and community groups across the country stepped in to provide welcome and practical help. We would like to take the opportunity to say a huge thank you to our network for your incredible work in distributing over £100K in products donated by companies including Pentland, Amazon and Johnson & Johnson over the last two months to Afghan families.
Here we highlight the difference made by two organisations – Carriers of Hope and Serving our Superheroes.
Carriers of Hope
Carriers of Hope were ready to welcome 478 Afghans to Coventry who had been held first in a refugee camp in Pakistan for two months. They received shoes through In Kind Direct and with the help of hotel staff were able to get a list of shoe sizes and deliver new pairs of children’s and adult’s shoes (see photo above). This note of thanks is just one of many the charity received back:
“Thank you so much, you are a blessing for me and my family. I don’t have family or anyone here but you have been there for me.”
Serving our Superheroes
Being near Heathrow, Serving our Superheroes supported many families in isolation centres close to the airport and when they moved into local ‘bridging’ hotels. They have a long-standing link with Hillingdon hospital who call upon founder and organiser Sarah when a family needs additional help, and Sarah was able to pass on baby essentials to the maternity team to give out.
“From hospitals who are supporting the refugees to children’s hospices to those in the community these essential items have gone to the poorer parts of our community who are in real need. Getting essential items to people in need, especially babies who are so vulnerable is so important to us.”
We have this view of our catalogue with the essentials that you have told us you need the most for emergency relief.
If you are looking for higher volumes of products to support refugees in the UK and overseas contact Charity Network Manager, Emma.
Latest Posts
View allSt Andrews Youth Club is a community-based youth club and registered charity that has been enriching young lives for more than 150 years. Supporting over 500 members each year, the club provides a sense of belonging, fun and informal education, helping young people build self-confidence, develop respect for others and grow into active, positive members of their communities.
Read moreWith a new Prime Minister and a new Government agenda, we explore what the early policy priorities could mean for tackling hygiene poverty. From cost-of-living measures to a renewed focus on devolution and local decision-making, find out how we think these changes may shape the landscape for our network communities across the UK.
Read more2025 has been a year of significant progress for In Kind Direct, both in the scale of our impact and in how we are shaping our future. The numbers speak for themselves: together with our partners, we supported more people than ever before, reaching 930,000 people each week through our network of over 9,000 charitable organisations.
Read more