St Mary's have received a thank you from George Lane at The Chaplaincy, Manchester Airport, for the soft toy collection for incoming refugee children.

This charity appeal was for Afghan refugees in 2021, then Ukranian refugees in 2022 alongside refugees from Sudan, Yemen, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Syria and many other places of conflict and uncertainty across the world who continue to arrive at Manchester Airport – and as often as we are notified of their arrival, the chaplaincy team is there to greet them. The purpose of both is to reassure the children - and their anxious siblings and parents that they are safe and among friends. We have no idea of the immediate situation they left before they boarded their flight to the UK, but it would be entirely natural and normal for them still to be very anxious and afraid of authority figures, and especially immigration officers, security staff and police. So we aim gently to undermine the official and scary process of arriving in the UK. The kind donations all play an important role on achieving this. Thank you to all who have helped in any way.

George Lane

Lead Chaplain at Manchester Airport Chaplaincy