Week Eight - Burhan and Laura!

Week Six by Burhan and Laura
Did you know that one in ten people in Aberdeen lives in deprivation? To try and reduce this shocking statistic Instant Neighbour provides support to people living on low incomes in Aberdeen City and Shire. They recycle and distribute quality used furniture, clothing, and baby equipment to people who need it most. We help by going out and about in the van, picking up the furniture, distributing the furniture, and sorting out the other goods which are donated from members of the public (including thousands of cans of tinned food!). Preparation for Christmas has already started, and we have had a busy week with the launch of the Giving Tree! Through the Giving Tree members of the public donate gifts to children who might not normally get to receive one at Christmastime! At the launch we met the Lord Provost for the second time; we were first introduced at the beginning of the programme when we were invited for a tour of the Aberdeen City Council buildings.
Instant Neighbour receives lots of volunteers, so this week we have had the opportunity to meet other volunteers from all different part of the community (including lots of ‘warembo’ from the Police Cadets!). Despite the fact that we are so busy the happy and relaxed atmosphere at Instant Neighbour (and the fact we are always laughing and joking!) stops it from being tiring.
Aberdeen Forward is the other place where we are working in Aberdeen. It’s an environmental charity working to reduce waste and improve the surroundings for citizens of Aberdeen City and Shire. The charity runs many interesting projects including the Real Nappy project, Composting programmes and the Creative Waste Exchange (which is basically an Aladin’s Cave full of goodies and other exciting stuff!). Aberdeen Forward also conducts workshops with students from different schools to make sure that the environmental education begins at a grassroots level. At Aberdeen Forward we are doing a research project on the carbon footprint of the charity.
At the weekend we escaped from Aberdeen for a few days and headed west to Grantown on Spey! It was busy week but nice and lovely!
CHEERS‼ YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHHHHHHHHHHH‼‼‼