Priest praises community response to Ukraine humanitarian appeal
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A PRIEST at the centre of a humanitarian collection effort for Ukrainian refugees has thanked the people of Banff, Macduff and neighbouring communities for their amazing response.
Father Piotr Rytel of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Banff and parishioners delivered the food, clothes, toiletries and other items to a distribution centre in Aberdeen last week, which was then bound for Ukraine.
Father Piotr, who is from Poland, said: "The response has been overwhelming. People have been so generous.
"We are continuing our prayers and thoughts for the people of Ukraine."
Other churches locally - Trinity Church in Banff and Macduff Parish Church - were also involved in the effort, and the Coop in Bridge Street, Banff, the Spotty Bag Shop and many other local businesses and individuals.
Father Piotr said the local community had rallied behind the humanitarian appeal.
Donations had to be suspended at the end of last week due to a lack of space at the collection point in Aberdeen, such was the success of collections across the north east of Scotland.
However, the Banff priest said local churches are poised to resume collections as logistics allow and the need is certain to remain with more and more refugees flooding into neighbouring countries from Ukraine.
More than 1.5 million refugees have so far fled Ukraine as it faces ongoing Russian bombardment.
At the Coop in Banff, they collected more than 10 cages full of goods in the space of a few days.
Team leaders John Taylor and Shelly Wear coordinated the effort in the shop.
John said: "It was something we decided to do as a local shop. We saw some appeals on Facebook and thought it would be a good thing to do.
"Myself and Shelly had a conversation and we decided to go for it.
"We started on the Monday and had to stop taking donations on the Thursday as we had 10 cages worth of items. Other local hubs had been collecting as well," he added.
Father Piotr organised the uplift of the donations from the store.
Coop customers can still donate cash to the Ukraine appeal in store and the company has said it will match £ for £ customer donations to the Disasters Emergency Committee through its local stores.
Father Piotr revealed he has contacted former Banff parish priest Father Marek Kaleta, whose small rural Jarezyn parish in the north of Poland has taken in around 40 Ukrainian refugees.
