As the COVID-19 pandemic moves closer to home and grips our beloved UK Cypriot community, we wanted to take another opportunity to send our best wishes to you and your loved ones during the difficult days and weeks ahead. We learn of new, tragic deaths each day and approximately 150 UK Cypriots have passed away from COVID-19 so far, which represents around 2% of total deaths in the UK. In contrast, UK Cypriots only represent around 0.7% of the UK population. We would like to express our heartfelt condolences to all those who have lost friends or family over the last few weeks.

As a Federation, we mobilised quickly to support our community through these dark days. We have created a comprehensive online support portal to help you access valuable resources covering a wide variety of topics.

Supporting those in our community who are elderly, vulnerable and in need

Today, we are proud to launch an initiative to provide a free food package to those most in need, in our community across the UK. John Christodoulou, Founder of the Yianis Christodoulou Foundation, has generously agreed to cover the full costs of these free food packages. We asked Mr Christodoulou for a positive message to launch this initiative and he said: “Tough times don’t last. Tough people do”. We would like to take this opportunity to express our heartfelt gratitude to John, and his Foundation, for his support.

In addition, we also have a network 40 volunteers across the UK who are able to help elderly, or vulnerable, people pick up their food or essential supplies

If you, or anyone you know, are in need of assistance, please give us a call on 020 8445 9999, or email us at [email protected] and we will discuss your circumstances, as food packages are limited.

We will get through this together and we can make a substantial difference to those in our community who are most in need. Thank you to our healthcare workers and other key workers, as well as those of you who are already volunteering and helping the NHS, local authorities, NEPOMAK UK and even just your elderly relatives and neighbours. Together we can achieve even more.

Finally, as we prepare to enter Orthodox Easter Holy Week, we wanted to take this opportunity to wish you all a very Happy and Blessed Pascha. Hopefully the Easter message of resurrection and renewal can be a guiding light during these difficult times.

With our very best wishes,

Christos Karaolis, President,
and Secretariat of the National Federation of Cypriots in the UK