Humanitarian crisis in Yemen prompts action half a world away in Easter Ross as Kildary woman steps up to challenge to help aid group Habibti spread the love
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AN Easter Ross woman is appealing for donations after deciding to help a children’s hospital in war-torn Yemen.
Dawn Aird, of Kildary, works in diabetic eye screening at the Centre for Health Science in Inverness.
She saw a post on Facebook from the community group Habibti Liverpool .
Habibti is commonly used to mean "my love".
They are collecting items for the Al-Sabeen Children’s Hospital, in Sana’a, for children aged up to five years old, and they are planning to send the next shipment in January.
She said: “I work for the NHS and am always looking for ways to help those in need, so the situation in Yemen is always at the front of my mind.
“I never knew how to actually help before as I don’t have a lot of spare income to make large donations.”
She has started to collect items such as pre-loved children’s clothes, including some that her own children had outgrown, and has already sent them to Liverpool.
I would like to arrange a delivery van to collect all items donated by kind Highland folk and drive the items down to Liverpool for the shipment
The 41-year-old is now asking for more donations which can be left at the Mercat Centre in Milton.
She said: “The community centre have gone out of their way to support this appeal. I have also had some staff in the NHS Highland offer to help donate items. I still haven’t worked out how I am going to get it to Liverpool.
“They need to be in Liverpool by January 15 and, ideally, I would like to arrange a delivery van to collect all items donated by kind Highland folk and drive the items down to Liverpool for the shipment. This would reduce the costs of sending them as single or multiple parcels via a delivery service.”
Mrs Aird said she felt helping people in Yemen was a good cause and added: “It’s a terrible situation, it is the worst humanitarian crisis which has been going on for so long. The children are affected by it. We are so blessed in this country.”
As well as the clothing she is also looking for nappies and blankets. For more information contact dawn.aird@yahoo.co.uk
