Watch how Zarach are tackling child bed poverty around the UK
Watch how Zarach are tackling child bed poverty around the UK. Source: The Independent
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00:00 (gentle music)
00:02 This Christmas, The Independent is shining a light
00:09 on the hard work happening across the country
00:11 to make the holiday season more comfortable
00:13 for the less fortunate.
00:14 The Independent traveled to Leeds to speak with Zarak,
00:18 a charity making their mark
00:19 in the fight against childbed poverty.
00:21 So going back about six years ago,
00:23 there was about 400,000 children in the UK in bed poverty.
00:28 5,000 of those children in Leeds.
00:31 So that was the impetus to start the charity.
00:34 Volunteers have been delivering mattresses and frames
00:36 to underprivileged families in Leeds for six years.
00:39 But this year, the team are launching
00:41 their first national appeal.
00:43 According to children's charity Barnardo's,
00:45 as many as 6% of children surveyed
00:48 say they have slept on the floor in the past 12 months
00:50 due to not having a bed.
00:52 We're very clear we're on a mission to end this.
00:55 We're a charity that doesn't want to be here
00:57 in years to come.
00:59 We want to inform and influence and campaign
01:02 so that the people who we entrust to make good decisions
01:06 for the wellbeing of our society
01:08 are making better decisions
01:10 than the ones that we've seen in recent times.
01:12 As well as the beds, Zarak volunteers pack and ship out
01:15 special hampers for those in need,
01:17 featuring clothes, toys, and essential toiletries.
01:20 I think, ultimately, a bed should never be considered
01:25 a luxury, and I've always had the luxury of that bed.
01:28 To know that the work that I do makes a difference
01:30 is job satisfaction for me, absolutely.
01:32 This is our first national campaign,
01:34 but the appeal this year is for its fundraising.
01:36 We want to be able to send 500 beds out in December
01:40 to children that don't have them before Christmas.
01:43 Currently, the team operates in nine areas in England,
01:46 from Leeds and surrounding Bradford,
01:48 stretching to Liverpool and even Romford.
01:50 The cause has attracted volunteers
01:52 looking to make their spare time worthwhile.
01:54 I really wanted to get me involved
01:56 'cause it's my local area.
01:57 Couldn't understand about the bed poverty,
01:59 and is that really a problem in my city?
02:01 And this just felt perfect.
02:02 It's helping a charity, helping a worthy cause.
02:05 It's in the area that I was born and bred,
02:07 and that's why I got involved.
02:09 According to Barnardo's, around 890,000 children
02:13 have had to share a bed or sleep on the floor
02:15 in the last 12 months.
02:17 Zarak's goal for their first national campaign
02:19 is to provide 500 beds for families
02:21 that struggle with bed poverty.
02:23 And if you want to help, visit www.zarak.org to donate
02:28 and help give every herd a bed.
02:31 Okay, good to go.
02:32 (upbeat music)
02:35 (upbeat music)
02:39 (upbeat music)
02:41 (upbeat music)
02:44 [Music]