stouravonmagazine.co.uk
8 New Stour & Avon, July 15, 2022
Letters
Please help our plan for housing refugees Concerned Dorset residents are spearheading an initiative to house refugees. The idea came from a member of Wimborne Methodist church who was moved by the plight of Ukrainians fleeing their homeland. Jennifer Jenkins came up with the plan of paying the rent on a flat for one year to give such a family a start here. Then it was discovered that there is a hotel in Bournemouth full of refugees from Afghanistan - families whose breadwinner had risked all their lives by working for British troops. The British government saved them from being murdered by flying them here but they are trapped in the town with little prospect of making new lives. So the scheme was broadened to pay the rent on two properties a flat for Ukrainians and a larger property for an Afghan family. Jennifer said: “It has been heart-breaking following the unfolding of Ukraine’s tragedy in the media.
I didn’t feel I could open my home but I really wanted to do something to help so I suggested renting a flat for a year. “Then when I heard about the Afghan families crammed into a Bournemouth hotel, it seemed only right to extend the idea.” International Care Network - a Dorset charity which has been settling refugees in the area for over 20 years - will support both families. So Peace Haven is asking people to pledge £10 (or a multiple thereof) a month for a year. About a third of the money has already been promised.. St Michael’s Church in Colehill has taken the venture under its wing which gives Peace Haven immediate accountability and transparency. If you are interested or require further information please email Sharen Green at sharen_eappi@ msn.com. Sharen Green Wimborne
Join new Christian group I am writing to you regarding our newly-formed Christian ministry home church and bible study group we have started in Langton Long near Blandford. We are a husband and wife team and offer Christian counseling, prayer and bible study on Tuesday evenings at 7.30pm We are in troubled times and people are asking questions
of the world, many of these answers are in the bible. We will also be offering baptisms in the future. We have been holding bible study for the past month and had a very encouraging response. I can be contacted on 07513 892185. Peace be with you. Simon Down
OFF THE WALL...
Cartoon by Lyndon Wall justsocaricatures.co.uk
We need affordable homes
Once again you report on the massive £41million retirement village that has got the go-ahead for planning and is being built in Wimborne, and once again – no mention of social or affordable housing for young/poorly paid working people who are desperate for a home they can afford. Having looked recently at the flats for sale in the Bournemouth area it is interesting to note that most ‘cheaper’ flats are retirement ones up for resale. There are very few ordinary
ones, and those available get sold very quickly and are more expensive because of the demand. We have masses of retirement flats available for resale, lots of new and older care homes, and a very great shortage of low cost/ affordable housing. The councils and the Government need to fix this – I am sure it would be a vote winner if that’s what they need to make it happen! Lesley Eve Verwood
Where are these ‘host of local clinics’ for our jabs? We’ve just had Midsummer Day and I daresay most of the people eligible for a booster jab will already have made arrangements to have theirs. Vulnerable elderly people with the conditions which sometimes accompany being older, often find it impossible to
deal with a 30-mile round trip, plus associated waiting. There was no centre nearer to Blandford than Colehill when my husband booked. I would love to know what the health authority exactly means by ‘a host
of other local clinics’. I have complained about the lack of vaccination facilities here, but had neither an explanation nor an apology for treating Blandford folks as an afterthought. Name & Address supplied
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