Ravensthorpe charity plans Syrian aid trip

SKT Welfare in Ravensthorpe is raising money to buy much needed medical equipment for Syrian refugees.

Volunteers will then take part in a 40-vehicle convoy to take the equipment to the Syrian borders, where teams working on the frontline of the conflict will take it to where it is most needed.

Asif Hussain from SKT Welfare said: “When the problems in Syria first surfaced there was a lot of media attention but that has died down.

“The problem is that it is becoming progressively worse but the media attention is getting less and less.”

The charity, based at the Addas Centre in Huddersfield Road, is looking for donations to help it buy everything from ambulances and hospital beds to drapes and catheters.

It is also looking for people to take part in the convoy.

Vans up and down the country will be setting off with the equipment on December 23. They will pick up more supplies in Istanbul five days later, then head into Syria, where 2m people have been displaced and 1.6m have lost their homes.

The items donated on this trip will be used to set up a hospital in Aleppo, Syria, where much of the violence is now focused. The aim is to then set up another hospital on the outskirts of the capital, Damascus.

Visit www.sktwelfare.org.