SCHOOLS across West Belfast have been collecting donations to send to those in need following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Products such as toiletries, food and pet products have been piling high in assembly halls across the city before being collected and distributed to the warzone.
De La Salle College was just one of many schools involved in collecting goods. Veronica Hanna, Key Stage Five Manager at the school said that when they saw what was happening in Ukraine, they knew they needed to do something.
“After seeing the appeal put out by Foodstock, Andersonstown, our school was eager to support their appeal,” she said.
“Foodstock were contacted and they gave us a list of items that the Ukrainian refugees are in desperate need of. We then launched our own appeal within our school community and as always, we have been overwhelmed by the generosity and compassion shown by our pupils, all our staff, our parents and the local community.
“We are humbled and grateful that we can be of some support to those Ukrainians forced to leave their homes and hope that our dontations of toiletries, nappies and baby wipes, sanitary products, tinned food and dried food will bring them some small comfort in such distressing times.”
Paul Doherty from Foodstock said that they have been overwhelmed by the response from local schools.
“Every school up and down the road has been involved in this. A lot of them have brought some of the young people down to Foodstock and we have had the opportunity to talk to them,” he said.
“We have picked up through our conversations with the young people that they are very aware of what is going on and they have a lot of questions. They also wanted to do everything they could to help.
“That has enabled us to fill a lorry which is heading for the Romanian border with Ukraine now. I will be going out to meet that on Wednesday and then we will get that over the border into Ukraine by the end of the week.
“The response within West Belfast has made that happen. Many of the items and clothing will be passed on to those people in Ukraine.
“We have had an incredible response and it has been overwhelming.”
Once the Foodstock lorry arrives at the border with Ukraine, it will be divided into smaller shipments and sent to areas within the country where it is needed.
