The women of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Chester area met together to find out what they could do to help Syria’s refugees.
According to the UN, the Syrian people are victims of the worst humanitarian crisis of our time. It would take nineteen hours to read out the names of all the Syrian children who have so far died in it. The Church has sent out a worldwide plea for members to do what they can to help the refugees. President Dieter F Uchdorf, member of the First Presidency of the Church, reminded members that he too was once a desperate refugee.
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The Relief Society is the largest women’s organisation in the world, and together much good can be achieved. Chester’s Relief Society President teamed up with the British Red Cross and UAREUK, to enlighten women to the awful reality Syrians are still being put through, and to make care packages in various workshops around the building.
Clare, founder of URAREUK, spoke of the dreadful things she’d seen: drenched and freezing families, separated, frightened individuals. Dehydrated babies in soaking nappies, shoeless people crossing unknown and treacherous routes in darkness. Young children separated from parents at train or bus stations – sometimes snatched in the chaos by smugglers. Smugglers taking further horrible advantages of the desperation and vulnerability – even selling fake children’s life jackets filled with foam, that would sink a child faster than no jacket.
However, Clare also spoke happily of being able to see bottles of water she’d bought and transported across Europe, being put in desperate hands, and watching things bought in Wrexham’s Poundland being delivered right to those who needed it.