Andrew Gwynne, MP for Denton and Reddish, has congratulated local charity Syria Relief for their charitable efforts during the lockdown.
Syria Relief, based in Denton, is known for their charity and humanitarian work in Syria, but during the lockdown, they have raised over £10,000 and set up a foodbank from scratch in order to support families in Tameside.
Syria Relief were driven to do this during the early stages of lockdown after some of Tameside’s foodbanks were forced to close (often due to panic buying and demand outstripping supply) and helped fill food provision gaps.
They set up www.covidemergencyresponse.com to fundraise for local individuals most impacted by the pandemic and have, at the time of writing, fundraised over £10,500. They have also been involved in supplying hot meals to homeless and vulnerable families and distributing healthcare packs.
The project was led for Syria Relief by Dr Shameela Islam-Zulfiqar, a medical doctor with years of experience working in the NHS.
Andrew Gwynne said:
“Syria Relief is an absolutely fantastic local charity that does amazing – and often dangerous – work supporting those caught up in the Syrian Civil War.
“Whilst the charity is very well known for their work in Syria, I’d like to congratulate them on all that they have done locally here in Tameside to help people through the difficult period of the lockdown – running a foodbank, providing vulnerable people with essentials and hot meals, and distributing healthcare packs.
“We are very lucky to have such a fantastic charity right here in Denton, and I’d particularly like to thank Dr Shameela Islam-Zulfiqar for all her hard work co-ordinating this lockdown work.”