Give
If you wish to give money, here are some options:
- USPG is leading a response with the Diocese of Europe (tel. 0800 917 0925)
- Doctors of the World – a part of the global Medecins du Monde network
- Christian Aid
Christian Aid also offer some helpful insight into why financial donations are the quickest and best way to support these people:
- Sending aid from the UK is expensive and takes a long time – good quality second-hand clothes and long-life food may seem like a good idea, but it can take weeks to ship items overseas – it’s much faster and cheaper to buy clothes and food locally as it is needed.
- We want to help people as quickly as possible – needs change almost on a daily basis, so with donations, whatever is needed can be bought at that moment.
- Bringing in too much aid can damage local economies – in many areas, food and other essentials are still available locally; where items have become unaffordable for people, cash donations enable things to be bought locally for them.
- Items donated may not be what Syrians need most – items given with the best of intentions may not be suitable for people; cash donations enable items to be bought locally which are most appropriate for the people being helped.
If you do want to give items in Europe, though, please contact the groups who are organising these collections and ask what they need before you start collecting – The Charity Commission can advise you about this.
