Herefordshire Freemasons have donated a further £5,000 via the Masonic Charitable Foundation (MCF) to the British Red Cross who are gallantly supporting the Ukrainian refugees in their time of need. Thousands of Ukrainian refugees fleeing the Russian invasion of their country will be given food, warm clothing and a place to stay, thanks to continuing donations made to the British Red Cross from Herefordshire Freemasons and other Provinces around the country.
As the situation in Ukraine deteriorates, trains leaving major cities like Kyiv for the border are packed. Huge queues are growing at border crossing points with reports of many families waiting days in freezing temperatures to reach neighbouring states. If the situation continues to worsen, the UN Refugee Agency has said it fears millions more people could end up seeking safety in other countries.
Already, Red Cross teams in neighbouring countries including Poland, Moldova, Slovakia and Romania, have been providing urgent support to these refugees. In Poland, where hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians have already sought safety, the Polish Red Cross has begun to establish temporary accommodation centres for new arrivals which can hold up to 400 people each. Similar responses have begun in Moldova, where in Chisinau, the Moldovan Red Cross has opened a shelter that can house up to 800 people, and in Slovakia, where the Slovak Red Cross has put up tents to house arrivals at the border crossing point in Ubla.
Many Freemasons have contacted the MCF and UGLE once the scale of this crisis become clear. The MCF have therefore established this Ukraine Crisis fundraising appeal to allow Freemasons, their families and friends to donate. to donate on the MCF Just Giving Page click here All donations, however small will be greatly received and put to good use in supporting the Ukrainian refugees.