Castlerahan NS Parents Association fundraiser for Ukrainian families: There was great activity in Castlerahan NS on Friday afternoon when the Bake Sake organised by the Parents Association got underway with lots of treats on offer for allcomers. In the front row are pupils who have just purchased their treats and behind the table displaying the treats are members of the Parents Association, Teachers and Cllrs Trevor Smith and T.P. O’Reilly.

Successful Bake Sale at Castlerahan NS

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Castlerahan NS Parents Association fundraiser for Ukrainian families: There was great activity in Castlerahan NS on Friday afternoon when the Bake Sake organised by the Parents Association got underway with lots of treats on offer for allcomers. In the front row are pupils who have just purchased their treats and behind the table displaying the treats are members of the Parents Association, Teachers and Cllrs Trevor Smith and T.P. O’Reilly.

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Back Row: Deirdre Clinton, Principal, Olga Dowd and Gemma Smith, Parents Council. Front Row: Yerokhina, Layla Rose Gaffney, Gmygro Yerokhina, Charlie Clarke.

Sean McMahon

Published: Fri 6 May 2022, 11:04 AM

Communities all over Ireland are organising wonderful events to support the people of Ukraine who have arrived here in search of refuge having been forced to flee their homeland. The Parents Association in Castlerahan NS played their part by organising a highly successful bake sale last Friday afternoon.

“I was delighted when the Parents Association came to me with the suggestion of the bake sake for Ukraine,” Deirdre Clinton, Principal of Castlerahan NS told the Celt.

“Because we recently welcomed people from Ukraine into our communities, we thought it was really important to support them in some way.

“The parents did all the work behind the scenes to ensure it was a success and we were delighted to host it,” said Deirdre.

Secretary of the Parents Association, Claire Brady told the Celt they decided a local fundraiser was needed.

“We now have members of the Ukrainian community living in Castlerahan and we simply wanted to do something to show our support for those relocating here and alleviating the humanitarian.

“This was a great opportunity for parents to visit the school after a lapse of two years due to the pandemic and especially the new parents of the younger children. It was nice for them to have a cup of tea and a bun and cake and see the surroundings in the school.”

The pupils also boosted the funds raised by purchasing their little treats and guessing how many many sweets there were in a jar.

Olga Dowd who is originally from Ukraine and lives in Ballyjamesduff said that her mother and father are staying with them and arrived just before the war commenced.

“We knew what was coming, so we got them over here,” she explained.

Olga now has a friend staying together with her mother.

Matliia Yerokhina and her son Gmygro arrived here on April 3 and she relayed that everyone has been so welcoming with lots of smiles all the time. “Everyone has been very helpful and I am very grateful,” said Matliia. She does hope to return home to Eastern Ukraine when things settle down again.