The organiser of a mammoth donation effort for refugees fleeing Ukraine has said she is “shocked” by the response.
The Westgate Hotel in Newport city centre has been packed with donations for days this week and more donations are coming in all of the time after photographer Kamila Jarczak made a plea for help on social media through her group Women of Newport.
The once-derelict hotel which became a cornerstone of the city’s Chartist history has become so full with donations that the 80-strong team of organisers has asked generous donors to stop sending items other than medical equipment.
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Such is the amount of donations that Newport County’s football ground Rodney Parade has also stepped forward to provide extra storage for the campaign.
More than one million civilians have now fled Ukraine with 500,000 of them in Poland. Kamila, 40, says the donations will go directly to people in Ukraine and refugees in neighbouring countries such as Poland, Slovakia, Moldova and Romania.
Speaking to WalesOnline during another extremely busy day at the Westgate on Thursday, Kamila said she had no idea of the scale of the job she would face when she posted on Facebook earlier this week inviting donations.
“I’m from Poland and I do feel a big connection to the people of Ukraine,” she said.
“I’m so overwhelmed by the donations we’ve received, which is now more than 500. Our posts have reached more than 30,000 people. It’s unbelievable.
“On the second day I started receiving messages from people all over south Wales - as far away as Tenby, who were ready to help with donations.
“We have logistics companies saying they can come to us with vans full of donations.”
Project manager of Newport Rising and the Westgate David Daniel said he had expected the ballroom to be enough when he agreed to offer the building to store the donations.
“We’ve been blown away, it’s just incredible,” he said. “There are probably 60 or 70 volunteers in the building right now and there are mountains of clothing, toiletries, nappies.
“We’re realising the amount of work that is going to be required now but that’s okay because there are people here willing to do it.
“We’re thankful to the owners of the building for allowing us to use it in another brilliant way. The history of this place is rooted in the Newport Rising and there are a lot of similarities between that moment in our history and what is happening in Ukraine right now. I’m delighted to be able to use the building for such a great cause.”
Kamila said the group has managed to make connections with people in Ukraine, Poland and Slovakia so they know exactly what is needed now.
“We sent the first van yesterday to Heathrow which is going to Poland and then onto Ukraine,” she said.
“We are growing every day. We have Ukrainian members now who are helping us to make contact with their people. There is a long way to go.”
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