Council aids Moray response to refugee crisis

Moray Council has made two vacant business units available to a local group set up to co-ordinate Moray’s response to the Syrian refugee crisis.

The units on one of Elgin’s industrial estates will be a handling centre for the thousands of items donated to Moray Supports Refugees by local people and businesses.

The council has also put one of its vehicles at the group’s disposal to help with the collection and distribution of donated items which so far have included clothing, footwear and sleeping bags.

Four volunteers are undergoing training to allow them to drive the van.

Moray Council leader Councillor Stewart Cree said: “The immediate needs of the thousands of refugees fleeing their homeland continue to be the focus of the huge international relief effort – and understandably so.

“However, it is equally important that when they are finally resettled – wherever that might be – arrangements are in place to enable them to integrate into their new surroundings.

“They will arrive with little or no possessions and will require the everyday household items that we take for granted.”

Councillor Cree, pictured handing the keys to the units to volunteer Lynn Bremner, added: “The council has made these two units available to help the local volunteers deal with the practicalities of collecting, sorting and distributing the huge volume and variety of items that the people of Moray are donating to the refugees’ cause.”

Moray Council area stretches from Tomintoul in the south to the shores of the Moray Firth, from Keith in the east to Forres in the west. The council and its 4,500 employees respond to the needs of 92,500 residents in this beautiful part of Scotland, which nestles between Aberdeenshire and the Highlands.

Famous for its colony of dolphins, fabulous beaches and more malt whisky distilleries than any where else in Scotland, Moray is a thriving area and a great place to live.

Headquartered in  Elgin, the administrative capital of Moray.