Somerset school bag appeal for Afghan refugees

A charity that was set up to help children in disaster zones abroad has re-focussed its efforts to help Afghan refugee children arriving in the UK.

The School In A Bag (SIAB) charity was set up by the family of Piers Simon, from Somerset, who died in the Indian Ocean Tsunami in 2004.

The charity stepped in after being asked to help by the Afghanistan and Central Asia Association (ACAA).

The joint appeal hopes to raise £60,000 to pay for 3,000 school bags.

'Crisis situation'

SIAB CEO Luke Simon said: "We received a desperate email from Dr Nasimi explaining how overrun the ACAA had become with the influx of Afghan nationals and that they needed volunteers and funds.

"It is a crisis situation and we are striving to get school bags to the refugee children as quickly as we can to help ease the burden on the families and help make their integration in to school as smooth as possible."

ACAA founder Dr Nooralhaq Nasimi said as a refugee himself, he knew how "daunting" the experience would be for the children arriving in the UK.

"It is vital that we make this process as easy as possible," he said.

"This, however, is a challenge when families have arrived in to the UK with only what they could carry.

"A school bag for these children will be a huge asset to help them with their studies and normalise their integration into a new learning environment."

He started ACAA to support refugees by offering them practical help and advice to navigate the resettlement process in the UK.

Over the past 20 days the charity has helped 600 people, including unaccompanied minors, with everything from clothes to translation services and immigration advice.

The UK has evacuated more than 8,000 people eligible for the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy since 13 August.

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