WHAT WE TAKE

Clothes and food are the main items taken on the convoys of aid as these are the most needed items. However, we always leave a little room for 'Wish List' items. These are things that the local organisations and groups ask if we can bring next time.

Wheel chairs are one of the most requested items but we have taken all sorts of things that have been donated by people in the UK. Sewing machines, musical instruments, hair dryers, medical equipment and video cameras are just a few of the items we have been able to supply.

One group of displaced people were supplied with chicken runs and coups that were prefabricated in the UK and then assembled on arrival. We then bought them the chickens to complete the project. The entire group work together to tend and feed the chickens and collect the eggs which they eat and the surplus are sold or traded for other food.

This is a self perpetuating, long term project that will be watched carefully to see just how much it helps the group both with food and getting them all to work together. 
 

Sewing machines have enabled a small group of women to set up a clothing alteration and repair centre. Another self help solution that means these women can now charge a small fee for their work and this enables them to buy food for their families. It may seem like a very small drop in the ocean but  these women have a pride in their work and they are not relying entirely on handouts, which makes a big difference to their self esteem. 

On one of the recent aid convoys we took curlers, shampoos, hair dryers, scissors, brushes and colouring products. All of this was taken by one of the team to a women's prison in Kosovo where she spent a week showing some of the inmates how to use the hairdressing materials. This had a two fold outcome, the women had something to do as a recreation and when they got out of prison, they are able to present themselves better for employment.

As we said earlier, the main bulk of the loads is food and this has to be suitable to last for many months. Rice, pasta and flour are good basics along with tinned products.

Hygiene items like soap, detergents and deodorants are also needed. Baby products, jars of food and nappies form another group of products we include in our banana boxes of aid for families.