Member Article

Stedman coordinates donation to Hope And Aid Direct

The team at Stedman Corporate Clothing Ltd has completed the coordination of a huge donation effort for the charity Hope And Aid Direct, which takes vital aid to the victims of the war-torn areas of the former-Yugoslavia. Stedman Corporate Clothing donated over 1,050 pieces of clothing and accessories to the charity, which has been included in the Spring convoy that left the UK for Kosovo at the end of March.

Hope And Aid Direct runs convoys of trucks carrying food and supplies from the UK to the affected regions of Kosovo twice a year. The organisation works with local NGOs to ensure that those in greatest need receive the aid and aims to assist with resettlement and the return of refugees to their homes.

In Kosovo, Hope And Aid Direct works with the Mother Teresa Society who identify families in greatest need and arrange guides and interpreters. They do not discriminate on grounds of race or religion; the motto is “We take aid, not sides.”

Talking about the plight faced by those in Kosovo, Janet Young, Volunteer with Hope And Aid Direct said: “Although the war in Kosovo was over ten years ago, the country is still traumatised and the wounds have not yet healed. There is very high unemployment in Kosovo, very little state support and the rebuilding of homes and communities continues to be work-in-progress.”

Continues Janet Young: “I went to Kosovo for the first time last year and helped with deliveries to Roma areas and Serb villages, in addition to several poverty stricken families in other areas. In Obilic, we visited a rundown block of flats where each room houses an entire family. There are no beds; the families have sofas that become beds at night. Behind the flats was a small shanty town where we visited a blind woman in her 40s, living with a teenage daughter, in what we would think of as a garden shed, four rooms with concrete floors and a tin roof. I can’t imagine how they have survived this winter. All donations received help the community start to rebuild its confidence, clothe families and give them more chance to find work. Thank you so much to Stedman Corporate Clothing and its clients for the generous donation. It is gratefully received.”

Teresa Stedman, managing director of Stedman Corporate Clothing said: “We would like to extend our thanks to the following companies who helped us make this donation possible, including our clients Dunfermline Building Society, Gladedale Homes and Puig for allowing us to send former uniform stock, accessories and unused fabric. Also thanks to our warehouse and distribution partner Dawson Marketing Services, and in particular, Kay Mandla and Blazej Kotlicki for their hard work collating the stock. The essential donation will make a real impact in Kosovo and we are pleased to have been able to support Hope And Aid Direct with its Spring shipment.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Peppa Sheridan .