Season of goodwill

'Our' refugee family made the headlines in the local paper today following their expressed wish to thank the community publicly for their warm reception into the town. They said they feel safe and welcome here, their children have settled well in school and they appreciate the kindness that has been shown to them.
 They also explained that they are happy to take part in the Christmas festivities here since back home in Syria  Christians and Muslims celebrated each others' festivals together as a matter of course.

The community sponsorship group who have supported the family since they arrived 6 months ago decided to give them a book of photographs containing our pictures of the various local events and activities they have been involved in since their arrival (such as this one).
Today (right) we went to sign it with personal messages before it's given. It makes a lovely record of their journey from awkward newcomers to fully-fledged members of the community.

Below, in another happy circumstance someone generously donated to the Community Fridge a supermarket voucher she had won.  It means we have been able to buy a range of extra items that will be available over the holiday period. The fridge will be open every day apart from December 25th so if there are people struggling to make ends meet  these emergency rations could help them out. 
The image shows Elenor and Aster selecting the goods.