Norfolk Council are resettling Afghans in Norfolk with the support of all the district councils.
This is through the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP), for people and their families who supported the military, and the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme, for other people who are being evacuated from the country. The government is providing grant aid to help fund this.
Afghans who have already arrived and will continue to arrive over the coming weeks and months will be given housing and support and assistance to help them establish their new lives in the UK. This support includes school places for children, physical and mental health support, help to learn English, help registering with local services and help to find jobs.
Afghanistan is currently a red list country for coronavirus so most people arriving from there will have to quarantine in a hotel for 10 days and will be given PCR tests.
How you can help
If you would like to donate or volunteer your time, please go to www.gov.uk/help-refugees. The Council are using this service to manage the high number of donations and offers we are receiving.
Items urgently needed:
- Bed frames and bedside cabinets
- New mattresses
- Bookshelves
- Curtains
- Dining tables and chairs
- Small appliances (such as toasters, microwaves, vacuum cleaners)
- Freestanding kitchen appliances such as cookers, fridges, washing machines
- Sofas and armchairs (these must have a fire safety label)
- Televisions, DVD players and set top boxes
- Wardrobes, chests of drawers and dressing tables
- Garden tools
- Gift vouchers, eg Argos, B&Q, Currys – we can use these to buy essential items that we’re short of
Items NOT needed:
- Bedding and towels
- Baby clothing – you could donate spare items to Baby Bank Norfolk instead
- Old mattresses
- Crockery and cutlery
- Cups and glasses
- Food – you could donate to your local foodbank instead
- Toiletries – you could donate to your local foodbank instead
How to donate money
You can donate money to the Bishop's Refugee Fund, set up by the Bishop of Norwich, in these ways:
- Donate online through the Diocese of Norwich website
- Bank transfer using payment reference Bishop's Refugee Fund, Sort code 20-62-61, Account number 30674508
- Cheque made payable to ‘NDBF Ltd’. Please include a covering note to say it’s for the Refugee Fund and post to 109 Dereham Road, Easton, Norwich, NR9 5ES.
Clothing donations
Alive UK emergency response are supporting Norfolk‘s efforts to make a new home for Afghan refugees. You can donate clothing at Alive’s drop off point in Chantry Place (formerly Intu Chapelfield Shopping Centre) in Norwich, opposite HMV. Please put clean, laundered clothes in plastic bags into the labelled container.
Accommodation
Norfolk will not be hosting Afghan arrivals in the homes of local residents, so we are not asking people to come forward with offers of a spare bedroom. If you have a spare room and want to use it to help others, Refugees at Home is a UK charity which connects people with a spare room in their home to refugees and asylum seekers.
If you have a whole property that could house an Afghan refugee family, please contact:
- Norwich City Council area: [email protected] or telephone 01603 989444
- Broadland or South Norfolk Council area: [email protected] or telephone 01508 533893
