A welcome awaits

Our second community-sponsored refugee family flies into the UK  tomorrow and the Mum of the first one has undertaken to source provisions and cook a meal for their arrival. When she and a member of the team got back from their shopping trip the kitchen filled up with bulging bags and there was barely room to store everything. A cornucopia of fruit required a dash to find a fruit bowl in a charity shop. I struck lucky with a huge wooden one for £3 (Extra)

The house, the same that the first family lived in until they moved to a larger one, has been thoroughly overhauled: painted from top to bottom, carpet replaced,  furniture,  bedding,  clothes, toys and toiletries supplied. Minor repairs and adjustments have been made, the garden tidied, instructions provided in Arabic and English. The anticipation is exciting for us as we try to brainstorm everything a young family with three small children will require, but how full of anxiety and apprehension must they be as they ready themselves for a journey into the unknown.  Our first family will be a huge asset in communication and support, as well as an example of resilience and adaptability. We can't predict how the new arrivals will manage the transition  but we are full of hope for them as  they prepare to enter an unfamiliar (but safer) situation.