A Kippen couple have rallied to offer digs to delegates from West African nation Burkina Faso after an urgent appeal was issued ahead of COP26.
Giles and June Waley took to local social media on Wednesday in an effort to try and find a place for nearly 30 delegates travelling almost 5,000 miles from Burkina Faso to stay during the fortnight of the climate change conference.
The pair, who are members of the international peace organisation Servas which offers hospitality to travellers from around the world, have themselves taken in a pair of representatives from the country in the past few days.
But after receiving an urgent call about the struggles of the contingent - who are set to arrive into Scotland - in finding local digs, they swung into action to try and secure them a place to stay.
And since the appeal went live, June says the pair have been left inundated with offers of spare beds and rooms to stay from residents eager to do their best to support the global event.
She told the Observer: “We were speaking to a Servas contact who works in the Burkina Faso embassy in London and they were saying there was a desperate shortage of accommodation and if there was anything we could do to help.
“We started speaking to members based across Glasgow and Stirling but the situation is now desperate with the delegates arriving at the weekend with nowhere to stay.
“We put it out on Wednesday night and we just got some fantastic offers and I spent most of Wednesday night and yesterday dealing with the calls and emails we had received.”
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The global climate meeting kicks off in Glasgow on Sunday, with more than 30,000 people set to descend on the city representing more than 200 countries, as well as businesses, charities and faith groups.
The scale of the event has led to stretched demand on accommodation spaces both in Glasgow and in the surrounding areas, with several hotels across Stirling and the wider area booked out for months in advance of the summit.
With hotel and accommodation places limited and finances for less developed nations such as Burkina Faso stretched, June admits she has been reliant on “Scottish hospitality” to offer free access to beds for the delegates.
June added: “The people coming in don’t have the budget to stay in hotels, so it’s been down to kind people with an interest in the conference who are willing to offer beds.
“It’s a really fantastic message for the world and is the best example of good Scottish hospitality because people are really pulling out all the stops with beds and even blow-up mattresses if they can.
“We can’t change things on a global level, but what we can do is offer hospitality to those who can do that and I think it’s a great opportunity for Stirling to contribute to something like this.”
If you believe you can help, or have any information that can help out, then you can contact Giles and June via email at june@waleys.net.
