Budding baker Ella eases refugees' plight

Moved by a neighbour's efforts to help refugees stranded in Greece, an 11-year-old Ardfern girl got busy baking.

 

Ella Pollock put together a shindig filled with cupcakes, sponges, biscuits and, of course, tea to raise funds to allow Pam Gregory to fly out to the Greek island of Samos, the site of a huge refugee camp.

 

Ella's sale attracted many visitors, filling the house with chatter and people reaching for the many delicacies on offer.

 

Ella said: ‘It took a couple of weeks to do all the baking. I had a whole list of cakes and a schedule to keep to and I did the shopping for the ingredients with my own money.’

 

This isn’t the first time Ella has used her baking skills to help others in the world.

 

She said: 'I’ve sold baking at lots of stalls for many causes. I’ve done it for Mary's Meals a couple of times and once for Crisis at Christmas.

 

'I just like helping people. I really love baking and I’m quite good at it so it’s good if I can use something I’m good at to get money for people. And I think it’s really good what Pam’s doing.'

 

Pam has a GoFundMe page asking to help her raise funds for a flight and accommodation to join Samos Volunteers, which provides support to refugees from Turkey, Syria and Africa.

 

In 2017 alone, Samos gave a temporary home to more than 4,800 arriving refugees. The volunteer group aims to aid these refugees by instilling a sense of normality, combating boredom and empowering people while they wait for their applications to be processed.

 

Pam, aged 72, has barely unpacked from her latest trip to Samos and is raring to get back.

 

Pam said: 'It can be lots of fun. Sometimes we shut the gates to the guys and have a girl’s night. They’re teaching me to dance.

 

'I’m planning to back at Christmas when the volunteer numbers are low and winter conditions make things desperate and unhygienic.'

 

Ella's bake sale raised £363.90, pushing Pam over the halfway mark towards her £2,000 goal.

 

If you would like to donate, visit gofundme.com/ctpkp3-help-me-to-help-them