The first collection. All of this was donated in just an hour or two (photo by Tom Hodgetts)

Okay, I was way too quick off the mark with my previous post. Since writing it, the folk of Skye have excelled themselves in their kindness again.

You’d have to live on the moon to have not heard about the Syrian refugee crisis and the charities that have sprung up to help the people camped out in Calais.
Because of the weather and conditions over in France, the items that the migrants need are things such as tents, walking boots, waterproofs and tarpaulins -all things which are very much everyday staples for life on Skye.

CalAid has been the most prolific of the aid organisations so when I saw a donations drive being organised in Fort William and Inverness I asked them whether we could have a collection here in Skye and add it to theirs. The response was quick and I was put in touch with other people in the area who’ve made similar enquiries.

Long story short, we’re now deep in the middle of setting up donations drop-off points all over Skye and the response from local people has been overwhelming.
I was stunned to find so many other people who wanted to start up a collection and to see how many people were willing to donate every spare rucksack, tent, sleeping bag, etc etc that they had. A chap called Tom took the first car-load of stuff over to Inverness yesterday and within an hour or two he’d been given so much that he could barely close his boot.
The responses on the Facebook group, too, have been so quick and so staggering that it’s been an almost full-time job to try and keep everyone updated and informed.

The first donations packed into Tom’s car and ready to go to Inverness (photo by Tom Hodgetts)

Aside from the collections, there are people here who want to go even further to help the refugees.
A man called Stuart wrote a letter to our councillors suggesting that we facilitate a programme here to help house and integrate the migrants.
Of course, unlike simply collecting aid donations, this is a political issue that not everyone agrees with (each person is entitled to their own opinions and beliefs). But seriously, if that’s not an example of ‘Highland Hospitality’ and just general kindness then I don’t know what is!

This whole tidal-wave of generosity is something I feel like I’ve witnessed here before; at the whale rescue when local people were keen to do everything they possibly could to help the effort.
Whales or people, there’s a spirit of charitableness up here that is really quite extraordinary.

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To see what we’re up to please visit the Skye & Lochalsh Volunteers For Calais Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/973882062670345/?fref=ts