A Rotherham charity is appealing for donations to help families rebuild their lives after the devastating Catcliffe floods.
Families have been left in despair due to the damage caused by Storm Babet.
Angela Jameel, the Chairperson of the trust, said: “On the day of the floods, I was just coming home from a round of chemo. We just got home within an hour of all three accesses to Treeton being totally impassable. I just feel so grateful and lucky that we got home, you don’t want to be stuck in the car anywhere after having IV.
“It makes you think about the people who aren’t so lucky.”
The Jameel Welfare Trust, based in Treeton, are collecting warm clothes, bedding, non-perishable foods, baby items and pet food to try and help.
Angela said: “There are people who have lost everything. Catcliffe gets flooded roughly every seven years, it’s a lot to rebuild your life over and over again. After seeing everything happening with the floods I decided to use clothes we have already from previous donations. I just wanted to be able to pull more things together to help people.”
“We believe small acts of kindness can build up and there is nothing too small that we can do. If we can put a smile on peoples faces and help one person who has been impacted by the floods, it has to be worth it.”
They are collaborating with ShipShape, a Sheffield based charity, to provide aid for those affected by the floods.
The charity was founded in Ms Jameel’s fathers name, Mohammed Jameel, who she described as a ‘true inspiration’ after he left his family in Asia to move to the UK 66 years ago.
Mohammed Jameel, 88, has done previous charity work prior to the trust being established, including turning a house in the Punjab area into a school for 1300 children who otherwise would not have an education.
The Jameel Welfare Trust was launched just over a year ago, in October 2022, with the Mayor of Rotherham , Tajamal Khan in attendance at the launch in Sharrowvale.
Ms Jameel said: “It was brilliant to see my fathers lovely smile when we launched and how much people in the community love him. That was the inspiration behind the charity. The main motivation is seeing people around us suffering, here and abroad. We believe every act of kindness is charity and that is what our charity is based on.
“There is nothing better than helping people and having that gratitude, it makes you feel so good. When people are going through difficult times, like the floods, we can share the love and hope and help others.”
Recent projects carried out by the trust include food packages being delivered to South Asia, meals being provided in Uganda, and fundraising for Dementia UK and the British Heart Foundation.
To make any donations to the Jameel Welfare Trust, their website can be found here.