As attention turns towards the UK and refugees entering the country, an open meeting is being held in the city tomorrow to organise the efforts.

The meeting is to be held in Salisbury Methodist Church, on St Edmund’s Church Street, tomorrow (April 1) at 5pm.

Salisbury resident and charity worker Jane Ebel, 60, is organising the meeting, to be hosted by Rvd Anna Bishop of the Methodist Church.

Jane was in Moldova, one of Ukraine’s neighbouring countries receiving many refugees, between March 8 and 19.

She is planning to visit again for another ten days on April 18.

Jane said: “My daughter was reporting in Kyiv and I found it difficult to stay still and stay at home.

“It was an emotional experience, but in a positive way. I went there ten days into the war. At the start of the war, there had been hundreds and thousands of people going over the border, and Moldova didn’t know how to cope. When I went, it had become more organised with refugee centres and registration set up to avoid trafficking issues.

“I felt a huge sense of pride in how the country was dealing with it. It’s been an incredible effort.”

Jane runs Moldova UK Social Enterprise, her own Community Interest Company, as well as being trustee of The Bearr Trust, which partners with charity organisiations in Ukraine and Moldova, among other countries.

She is a Russian speaker and has worked on many projects in Moldova for 15 years.

Jane added: “I started getting lots of messages when I returned from Moldova, from people wanting to help with hosting refugees, so I thought it probably needed to be coordinated at this end.

“I thought it would be sensible to have a big open meeting to organise how to best support as a community and as an interfaith group.

“So much depends on how many people want to come, how long the paperwork will take, and waiting for the visa system, while trying to make the most of the generosity of people in this country.”

Her attention is now also focused on raising monetary donations, as word has it that the big lorries taking items are becoming difficult to cope with.

For more information on the meeting, email Jane on musecic@gmail.com

Jane was awarded an MBE in 2019, in the Diplomatic Service and Overseas Birthday Honours list, for her work helping disabled people become more socially integrated in Moldova.

Newsquest has pledged to donate proceeds from sales of some of its largest newspapers to the Red Cross DEC Ukraine Humanitarian appeal, which is dedicated to helping and saving those affected by this horrific and bloody war. We’re asking you to join us.

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For more information visit  https://donate.redcross.org.uk/appeal/disaster-fund Charity Registration No. Eng/Wales 220949,Scot SC037738, IOM 0752, Jers430

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