Helping Babies and Children in Direct Provision
Donation protected
Families of asylum seekers who are in emergency accommodation, such as hotels, are not provided with essential baby care products such as nappies and baby food. It can take weeks for these parents to get a PPS card and without this they can’t claim the €29.80 weekly child allowance or get a medical card. As asylum seekers, these parents have no way of providing these essential items for their children. For those in emergency accommodation in isolated areas, such as Portsalon in Donegal, the issue is compounded even further due to their location.
Movement of Asylum Seekers in Ireland (MASI)is a grassroots volunteer led group formed by asylum seekers who are or have been in Direct Provision. They brought attention to this dire situation when they visited a number of Direct Provision sites and emergency accommodation centres . They found families who had no access to appropriate baby-care products such as nappies, baby food, formula, buggies, clothes and soothers.
While the Reception & Integration Agency (Department of Justice and Equality) provide essential baby care products, such as nappies and baby food to those in official Direct Provision centres, people that are sent to emergency accommodation, such as hotels, are provided with only accommodation and meals. This means that parents with babies and young children are left without nappies and baby food.
Outside of these essential items, parents in Direct Provision are not provided with items that are deemed ‘non- essential’ such as buggies, soothers and clothes. All of this needs to be bought from their weekly allowance.
To try to care for and nurture your child without basic necessities and without the support of a wider network of family and friends is incredibly difficult. As a parent, I can't imagine how difficult it must be for these families, who arrived in our country seeking asylum from a variety of situations.
So we have started this GoFundMe campaign to help raise much needed funds for parents and their children in Direct Provision.
The goal is to raise €3000 to help MASI buy the following essentials for children staying both Direct Provision centres and emergency accommodation centres:
- Nappies and formula for anyone who is not currently receiving it (i.e. those in emergency accommodation centres)
- Items deemed as ‘non-necessary' by the Reception and Integration Agency like buggies, soothers and clothes for all babies
- Other supplies for children such as school and education supplies
All money raised through this campaign will go directly to MASI, who will buy the supplies needed and deliver them directly to those in need.
Irish Times Article
Irish Examiner Article
Movement of Asylum Seekers in Ireland (MASI)is a grassroots volunteer led group formed by asylum seekers who are or have been in Direct Provision. They brought attention to this dire situation when they visited a number of Direct Provision sites and emergency accommodation centres . They found families who had no access to appropriate baby-care products such as nappies, baby food, formula, buggies, clothes and soothers.
While the Reception & Integration Agency (Department of Justice and Equality) provide essential baby care products, such as nappies and baby food to those in official Direct Provision centres, people that are sent to emergency accommodation, such as hotels, are provided with only accommodation and meals. This means that parents with babies and young children are left without nappies and baby food.
Outside of these essential items, parents in Direct Provision are not provided with items that are deemed ‘non- essential’ such as buggies, soothers and clothes. All of this needs to be bought from their weekly allowance.
To try to care for and nurture your child without basic necessities and without the support of a wider network of family and friends is incredibly difficult. As a parent, I can't imagine how difficult it must be for these families, who arrived in our country seeking asylum from a variety of situations.
So we have started this GoFundMe campaign to help raise much needed funds for parents and their children in Direct Provision.
The goal is to raise €3000 to help MASI buy the following essentials for children staying both Direct Provision centres and emergency accommodation centres:
- Nappies and formula for anyone who is not currently receiving it (i.e. those in emergency accommodation centres)
- Items deemed as ‘non-necessary' by the Reception and Integration Agency like buggies, soothers and clothes for all babies
- Other supplies for children such as school and education supplies
All money raised through this campaign will go directly to MASI, who will buy the supplies needed and deliver them directly to those in need.
Irish Times Article
Irish Examiner Article
Organizer and beneficiary
Aoibhinn Ni Shuilleabhain
Organizer
Dublin
MASI Organisation
Beneficiary
