ORGANISERS of an appeal for clothes, toys and other items to be sent to the British Red Cross refugee centre in Portsmouth have praised the “amazing generosity” of Farnham people.

The Farnham Help for Refugees group, which organised the appeal, has thanked the public for donating thousands of items at Farnham Leisure Centre and St Thomas-on-the Bourne Church on Wednesday, October 21.

With the help of The Herald’s van, the items were delivered to the British Red Cross centre on Thursday, where they will be given to refugees and asylum seekers in time for this winter.

Reverend Karen Hutchinson, one of the founders of Farnham Help for Refugees, said: “The response to our appeal has been amazing and we had lots of people coming in saying what a good thing we were doing.

“It’s still the case that the best way of helping is by sending cash to the charities working in the refugee camps, because they can make better use of it that way.

“But if there’s a way of doing something additional that is practical then so much the better. People want to be able to give something to the refugees, and we’ve been amazed by the generosity.”

Rev Hutchinson, the vicar of St Thomas-on-the Bourne, added many people donated brand new toys, socks, hats, gloves and other items last Wednesday and thanked all those who helped organise the appeal and sort through donations.

“The response by our team has been amazing because six weeks ago we didn’t know each other,” she said.

“A question was posted on Facebook asking ‘is anyone doing anything in Farnham?’ and all these fantastic people came out of the woodwork to share ideas and work together.

“It’s been a really refreshing look at how social media can be at its best - helping people who don’t know each other but share a common interest come together.”

Malcolm Little, British Red Cross service manager based in Portsmouth, took delivery of the donations on Thursday and also thanked the people of Farnham for their generosity.

He said the donated items will be distributed to his clients at the Red Cross’s Winter Help event on Tuesday, November 3, at All Saint’s Church in Portsmouth.

“We’ve never done anything like this before, and have been spurred on by the fact that we’ve received so many donations,” Malcolm told The Herald.

“We’re expecting about 100 people to come to the event but their dependents will also benefit. Everyone is required to sign up in advance and if we know that a woman has got three kids, then we’ll let her take three loads of clothes.”

Malcolm added the British Red Cross Centre in Portsmouth, in partnership with All Saint’s Church, is completely non-judgemental and cares for around 450 refugees and asylum seekers every year.

It hosts drop-in sessions three times a week, offering clients a meal and a hot drink, second-hand clothes, a bag of food to take home and crucial advice on legal issues such as safeguarding and asylum applications.

Clients mostly come from the Middle East and sub-Saharan Africa - fleeing persecution in nations such as Zimbabwe, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Somalia, Eritrea and Syria - and many suffer a complex array of physical and mental issues including FGM.

“Our clients get bad news a lot of the time and can get quite depressed,” continued the Red Cross service manager.

“Only around 40 per cent are ever given permission by the Home Office to stay in the UK, leaving the unfortunate 60 per cent to go through a horrible process of being taken to immigration removal centres, which are basically prisons, and then sent back to the country where they face being killed.

“I’m no liberal wetty - I’m a Tory and ex-military. But I get to know if people are genuine or not and you have to use your common sense. When there are genuine people in need you’ve got to help them.”

Farnham Help for Refugees has vowed to keep doing whatever it can to support those in desperate need, and is planning a fundraising event in the new year.

For more information search for the group online at www.facebook.com.