Staff in Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children making "Emergency Backpacks" for refugees in Northern Ireland
Doctors, nurses, and admin staff in the Emergency Department came up with the idea at the end of last year
Last updated 14th Apr 2022
The staff at the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children Emergency Department are going the extra mile to help young refugees arriving in Northern Ireland.
It comes after they noticed a rise in children attending the department who recently arrived to the Greater Belfast area and were living in temporary accommodation.
Some children were not dressed for the cold temperatures and others had limited access to services due to their recent arrival status.
The staff wanted to provide emergency supplies in a practical manner and created "Welcome Backpacks" for these children and supplied them to new arrivals who attended ED.
They teamed up with Friends of Africa, a local development charity, to help with funding and have now provided more than 50 welcome packs already
Packs include essential toiletries, basic clothes and some toys. As demand continues to be high they need to raise more money to continue to supply these welcome packs so that children and their families arriving here know they are supported and that help is available.
Watch the video below to see and hear how the backpacks are made and what is in them.
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