ON a morning of teeming rain and sunshine, a small band of people worked up an appetite for the bacon butties that followed the loading of around 3,000 shoe boxes, more than 200 banana boxes and many disability aids (wheelchairs, walking aids and commodes) for transport abroad for Christmas and thoughout the year.

Members of the Rotary Club of Crediton Boniface were clearing a spare room at the Copplestone home of Adrian and June Redfern.

Each shoe box was gift wrapped for Christmas, most labelled for the suggested age of the recipient. The banana boxes held anything from shoes and socks to medical supplies, handbags, clothes, bedding, soft toys, all to go to needy people in countries such as Belarus, Sierra Leone, India, Mexico, Cuba, Ukraine, Moldova, Nigeria, Romania and Albania for the Syrian refugees.

This is all done through the International Aid Trust, a Christian humanitarian aid agency with the vast majority of the aid projects running hand-in-hand with its network of more than 2,000 churches around the world.

Adrian and June have been involved for at least 20 years. They are sponsorship secretaries for about 130 needy families in Belarus, Ukraine, India and Sierra Leone and they give talks all over Devon about the Mission of the Trust.

“As well as this, kind and thoughtful people throughout Devon want to help too when they see what is done,” said Adrian.

“Hence the thousands of shoeboxes and all the humanitarian aid which comes our way through the year. Many knitting groups love to knit as well.”

That means a lot of hand-knitted clothes, toys, blankets, hats, gloves and more. It all goes to the International Aid Trust warehouse in Lancashire where there are links with the Probation Service giving valuable life skills to prisoners plus many other organisations.

All the information is on the IAT website which also lists the 23 shops that support IAT.

What had been collected at Adrian and June’s home came from other parts of Devon as well as locally. Their home is the only collection point in the South West.

June said their spare room had been filling up since the summer, although we all think of shoe boxes for Christmas, shoe boxes are distributed through IAT throughout the year.

There is a list of what can and what should not go into them and this included chocolate and other perishables although sweets are welcomed, so is stationery and more.

Everything had to be loaded into two lorries, lent by Claremont Marquees Limited of Coleford and Philip Burrow, also Coleford plus David Worden’s big van from Crediton Car Centre on Exeter Road.

Once loaded, with all the helpers having been fed bacon butties by June, they were driven to M C Kelly Limited where all the boxes, walking frames, commodes, walking sticks and other aids were loaded into an E and C Distribution 26ton curtain sider lorry from Preston, another Rotary contact.

The smaller vehicles had to be used because the big lorry would not have been able to get to Adrian and June’s home. They were very grateful to M C Kelly Limited for the space.

Sue Read