Final push for Looe's aid lorry
The organisers of the Looe lorry to send aid to the Kosovan refugees in Albania are giving out a final urgent appeal for a final push to send it on its way.
A huge forty ft long container will soon be arriving in the town and it wants to leave within two weeks, but £1,000 is still needed, roughly equal to the cost of the ferry from Italy to Albania, before it can embark. So far enough goods have been donated to half fill it, but the organisers want to see it full to the brim. It will be the biggest aid lorry to have left Cornwall so far.
Malcolm Barker who has recently been to Durres, the final destination of the Looe lorry, says this is a very special consignment because it is full of things which the refugees themselves have specifically requested, and they are looking forward to the gift from 'Looe's generous people'.
Mr Barker says that among the 10,000 refugees in the Durres area there are a lot of 11-17 year olds who are desperate for things to help them lead a more normal life.
Top of the list is bikes, and any sort of games equipment which will keep them active, occupied and happy.
Other items top of the list are NEW underclothes for men, women and children, terry towelling nappieand lots of tinned foods. These should specifically be soups, rice and meats, but excluding pork products. Also any sort of pasta is in demand, along with sugar, tea and coffee. Many of the gifts have arrived from all over Cornwall and Devon, including 40 mattresses from Devonport Dockyard, collected free of charge by Jays Removals of Looe, and items from St Stephens and Scorrier where the local churches have run an appeal
The reception centre at Polvellan House, where volunteers, including mayoress Annette Bryan, have been beavering away sorting through the gifts, will be open until June 5th, from 10am-4pm, which does not include the weekend, and the Bank Holiday Monday by appointment only.