Syrian refugees in Greater Manchester have been helping boost flood defences in Rochdale after the town was struck by torrential rain on Boxing Day.
A group of seven Syrian refugees, wanting to “give something back to the community”, helped with flood prevention efforts in Littleborough on Tuesday.
The volunteers, who are currently living in Manchester, were shovelling sand into sandbags, in the car park of the town’s Conservative club.
Yasser al-Jassem, a teacher who came to Britain in the back of a lorry from Calais in May told Manchester Evening News: “We saw the pictures on TV and wanted to help.
“The people of Greater Manchester have been very good to us and so we wanted to offer our help to them.
“As Syrian refugees, we are honoured to take part in community service initiatives such as this to give back to the communities that have so warmly taken us in.
“I put out a call through WhatsApp and immediately had many other Syrian refugees join me.
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“It shows that we are very much interested in not only becoming a part of British society, but also contributing to it.”
