Brits have now donated more than £100 million to a fundraising campaign providing aid to refugees fleeing Ukraine.
With the conflict continuing to rise and as the Russian invasion of Ukraine said to be “turning lives upside down”, a group of 15 UK charities last week launched a government-backed fundraising appeal – known as the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) – to club their efforts together to provide aid to those fleeing what is being described as one of the most “heartbreaking” situations the charities have “ever seen”.
The impressive £100 million total – which has been accumulated over four days since the launch of the appeal – is said to include “generous” donations from the Queen, the Prince of Wales, and the Duke of Cambridge, as well as hundreds of thousands of members of the British public.
The amount raised is equivalent to more than £1 million per hour.
The DEC said the funds are already being used by charities in Ukraine and at its borders to give people food, water, medical assistance, protection and trauma care.
The British public has helped raise £100 million in just four days to support the DEC Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal – the equivalent of more than £1 million an hour!
The DEC said the funds are already being used by charities in Ukraine and at its borders to give people food, water, medical assistance, protection and trauma care.
ADVERTISEMENT
“This amazing show of support for people fleeing the conflict has meant that we have been able to start spending money straight away to help more people,” said Jo Kitterick, head of supporter engagement at the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development – which is one of the charities involved in the committee.
“I want to thank everyone who has donated to help us support them in their moment of greatest need,” she added.
Ms Kitterick said the charities part of the committee are currently setting up safe centres with beds, food and washing facilities inside Ukraine and on its borders.
ADVERTISEMENT
Transport, information, psychological support, and child-friendly spaces are also being provided.
The Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) was set up amid growing concern for civilian welfare following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine after it was estimated that up to four million people could flee Ukraine due to the conflict.
Brits have now donated more than £100 million to the DEC providing aid to refugees fleeing Ukraine / Credit: DEC (via Twitter)
The DEC said that people fleeing Ukraine are in desperate need of food, water, medical assistance and protection.
Many refugees are being forced into hiding to stay safe.
“The majority crossing the borders are women and children arriving with only what they can carry,” the DEC added.
ADVERTISEMENT
Giving an insight into the current situation from the perspective of someone on the ground, Andrew Morley – chief executive of World Vision International, who has recently returned from Siret on the Romanian border – explained: “We support children in countless crises across the world, including those I have recently visited such as Syria and the DRC, but I have never seen a more heartbreaking situation.
“All the children I met were crossing the border in tears, with pain and fear in their eyes.
“They were lost and scared.
“They need the basics, simple, practical help [and while] our staff have been present in this area for decades and there on the ground to deliver it, we need financial support to do this.”
The DEC said that people fleeing Ukraine are in desperate need of food, water, medical assistance and protection / Credit: DEC (via Twitter)
The DEC’s 15 member charities are – Action Against Hunger, ActionAid UK, Age International, British Red Cross, CAFOD, CARE International UK, Christian Aid, Concern Worldwide UK, International Rescue Committee UK, Islamic Relief Worldwide, Oxfam GB, Plan International UK, Save the Children UK, Tearfund, and World Vision UK.
ADVERTISEMENT
Appeals for public donations to the committee are currently being broadcast on various UK news channels, with every pound donated by the British public set to be matched by the government up to the value of £20 million.
The DEC has stressed that monetary donations are needed as opposed to specific items, which are often challenging to transport and not always relevant.
You can find more information and donate via the DEC here.
Simon Wood announces gutting closure of Manchester restaurant after seven years
Danny Jones
Celebrity chef and Manchester local Simon Wood has announced that his self-titled WOOD Restaurant has sadly closed its doors.
The Oldham-born chef-owner who won MasterChef back in 2015, revealed the unfortunate news on Wednesday, 2 October, confirming that the First Street site will be closing immediately. Truly gutting.
Wood has remained one of Greater Manchester’s most-renowned chefs for the past decade, not to mention a huge advocate for supporting the hospitality industry, especially post-Covid and during the ongoing cost of living crisis.
Sharing an emotional post on Instagram, he wrote: “It is with much regret that I have to inform you that I must close the doors here at WOOD for good, with immediate effect.”
“We have had 7 years as part of the Manchester city dining scene and I’m very proud of what the team and I have achieved”, the 48-year-old continued.
“Sadly with COVID rent arrears now being demanded by our landlord and an increasingly difficult marketplace, energy increases, ingredient costs and soon-to-be spiralling business rates we just cannot make this work.”
“I’d like to thank everyone for your support and patronage over the years. Thank you, Simon.”
It was only at the start of the week that Wood shared a frustrated post about a group of no-show customers over the weekend that failed to even pre-warn that they would no longer be attending one of his most exclusive and costly experiences.
We’re starting to lose count of how many local businesses are unfortunately struggling in the face of the rising business rates and energy bills that all independents are facing at the minute.
It was only last month that we saw Almous Famous had to call it a day with their Withington location and beloved sandwich spot Micky’s sadly suffer the same fate. Even cult favourite Cafe Marhaba looks to have gone up for sale. So tough to swallow.
We’re genuinely gutted for everyone involved with the brand. All the best, Si – we know you’ll be back stronger than ever one of these days.
Featured Images — The Manc Group
News
No trams to run through major Manchester city centre station this weekend
Emily Sergeant
Arguably Manchester city centre’s most important tram stop is set to be out of action this weekend, with no services running through it.
In what is another part of Transport for Greater Manchester‘s (TfGM) ongoing programme of works intended to “maintain and improve” the Metrolink system and ensure tram journeys in Greater Manchester remain “safe, reliable, and accessible”, it’s been confirmed that no trams will run through Cornbrook this weekend.
Due to this, there will be a change to operating patterns across the majority of the Metrolink network on both Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 October.
As is often the case in instances like these, disruption to passengers is expected.
On Saturday and Sunday [5 and 6 October], no trams will operate through Cornbrook.
There will be a change to operating patterns and replacement bus services will be in operation.
On Saturday (5 October), the tram service pattern will change to Altrincham – Old Trafford, Bury – Ashton-under-Lyne, East Didsbury – Firswood, Etihad Campus – Bury (peak time only) / Victoria (after peak only), Manchester Airport – Firswood, Rochdale Town Centre – Deansgate-Castlefield (via Exchange Square), and The Trafford Centre – Wharfside.
Similarly, on Sunday (6 October), the only difference to the above service pattern is that the Etihad Campus tram will only run to Victoria, not Bury.
Services will operate every 12 minutes, except for on the Eccles line, where no trams will run at all.
TfGM is also warning that there may be changes to the first and last tram times during these works, but, in bid to help people still get to their destinations, three bus replacement services will operate from Firswood to Victoria, Old Trafford to Piccadilly, and Eccles to Piccadilly.
No trams will run through major Manchester city centre station Cornbrook this weekend / Credit: TfGM
The Old Trafford to Piccadilly bus service will run through Wharfside, while the Eccles to Piccadilly will travel via MediaCity.
“These works are a vitally important part of maintaining a safe and reliable network for all our customers,” explained
Ian Davies, who is TfGM’s Interim Network Director for Metrolink, said these works are “a vitally important part” of maintaining the Metrolink, and that work has been scheduled by TfGM to “minimise disruption to passengers and residents as much as possible”.
Emily Sergeant -
7th March 2022 
