Maidenhead charity supports asylum seeker children in Holiday Inn

A Maidenhead charity which aids children in hardship is supporting about 80 children staying at the Holiday Inn, which is accommodating asylum seekers.

The Kaneez Bi Foundation has been involved in charitable work for about three years and recently became a registered charity.

It runs a soup kitchen in the centre of town and supports children in schools – about 15-20 every week.

The asylum seekers in the Holiday Inn are having their food needs taken care of, so the Kaneez Bi Foundation is looking to help in other ways.

“We were made aware that were a lot of children there,” said volunteer Dr Tahir Akbar.

“As we are children-focused we felt we had to do something.”

Though the Care4Calais refugee crisis charity is also supporting the asylum seekers, the Kaneez Bi Foundation felt that there ought to be Maidenhead-focused help as well.

Recently, it has been collecting and taking toys and presents for the children.

It is looking to provide clothing and self-care packages in the future, which will include basic first aid items such as plasters and bandages.

This will allow people to treat minor injuries such as cuts and grazes from home, saving them from the need to visit a GP practice for these.

It also saves people who may struggle to speak English from having to attempt to communicate this need at clinics.

To further help asylum seekers navigate life in the UK, the Kaneez Bi Foundation also wants to help with learning English and providing transport around the area.

“With young children, trying to get to the other side of town or to Wexham Park can be quite hard,” said Tahir.

The Kaneez Bi Foundation is currently building its website. More information on its work can be found on its Just Giving page at tinyurl.com/2vce6x5p

For those who would like to contact the Foundation for help, it can be called on 07825 640015.

Follow it on Twitter at @KaneezBiFoun