Build a donation bundle to help asylum-seeking mothers raise their children in safety and with dignity.
Asylum-seeking mothers are in need of nappies, wet wipes, baby toys, and other essential supplies to help take care of their babies and toddlers.
ESA Scotland currently supports 10 asylum-seeking ESEA mothers who are housed in the Mother & Baby Unit in Glasgow (run by Mears Group). They live in cramped and unsanitary conditions where they are unable to comfortably feed and nurse their babies. Their children do not have a safe environment to crawl, play, and learn.
The building they live in was originally used as a homeless shelter for young people until it was closed in 2020 for no longer being “suitable accommodation” as the building was described as “old” and “outdated”. The mothers and children who live in the Mother & Baby Unit were forced to relocate to this building at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
ESA Scotland believes that mothers should be able to raise their children in a safe, hospitable environment where they both can thrive. Their residence status should not dictate otherwise.
What your donations are worth:
£5
Baby wet wipes
The asylum-seeking women who live in the Mother & Baby Unit already reside in unsanitary and cramped quarters with very little ventilation and natural light. Just a pack of baby wipes would be a extremely useful in keeping their children and themselves clean, especially when it comes to their close quarters during the pandemic.
£10
Nappies
There are no supermarkets or shops close to the Mother & Baby Unit for many of its residents to buy basic goods and supplies. While reusable nappies could be a possible solution to this, the mums at the Mother & Baby Unit do not have the time nor access to running water and drying facilities to keep up with their upkeep. Packs of nappies would be a huge help and a load off of many of their shoulders!
£21
Bus pass - 10 single journeys
Asylum seekers have a weekly maximum allowance of £35. For the women we support, they spend 15% of this allowance on public transport to receive free nappies weekly from a local baby bank. That is the equivalent of someone working full-time on the national living wage paying around £52 for a bus ride. Being able to access public transport would not only help them get the supplies they need, but would also be a huge help to their mental health by getting them out of the unit. This bus pass would enable them to take 10 single journeys on the bus as they need to.
£53
Bus pass - Unlimited travel for 4 weeks
This bus pass would give one mother from the Mother & Baby Unit the opportunity to use the Glasgow buses to travel as much as they would need to for four weeks. This could help them access basic essentials from supermarkets, attend workshops and events to help them with everyday life in Scotland, and improve their mental health by meeting people from various communities and going into nature with their children.