LONDON – The Muslim community in Croydon, South London, has been collecting donations to help families affected by the Grenfell tower fire earlier this year, including aid packages to survive cold weather.

“There were a lot of donations in the summer after the tragedy but none for the winter,” Florent Caillibotte, UK programs’ officer at Al-Khair Foundation told Croydon Guardian.

“Not everyone has been rehoused and there has been less and less support for them in terms of donations.”

The tragedy, in which 53 adults and 18 children died, occurred in June. A lack of warm clothes left the victims, who lost everything in the fire, freezing.

This week, members from the Al-Khair Foundation donated care packages to 30 of the most affected families, who are still living in hotels.

The packages were delivered to the donations center, which was set up immediately after the fire. Of the 250 families dispersed when the tower block became a deadly inferno, only 49 have found permanent homes.

Hanan Miezou, the manager of the donations center, said the donations would be a rare bright spot for the victims who have lost so much.

“They are not in the frame of mind to go out shopping,” she said.

“It is a difficult time of year for them because people are spending it in their homes with their families and these people have no homes and in some cases have no family.

“They are still going through huge hardship and need continued support.”