Løten municipality has asked the cabin people for refugee help. There are many cabins in the municipality, which now comes in handy when they have to provide housing for Ukrainian refugees.
Budor Hytteutleie received a request from the municipality last week. On Thursday, the company posted a Facebook post where they called for cottage owners who could consider opening the doors to refugees.
The response came immediately, says general manager of Budor Hytteutleie, Tormod Tvinnereim, to TV 2.
– We have so far reported five cabins that can house refugees. Some of the cottage owners have used our services before, others have not done so before, but make the cottages available immediately now. I think that is impressive, he says.
The cabin owners who signed up were sent on to the municipality for further planning. Tvinnereim does not yet know how to arrange everything in a practical way.
– Now the most important thing is to get this started immediately, he says.
Seltzer started his own campaign
Musician and host Thomas Seltzer has a cabin on Budor. He did not hesitate to say yes to the request from Budor Hytteutleie to help Ukrainian refugees.
He says that he was thrilled when he heard about the idea for Løten municipality.
– I thought this was really cool. A cabin is a real home and we have thousands of them in Norway. Now there are many who are freezing and need a roof over their heads. I think this is something many others can be a part of. This must also be followed up by other cabin municipalities, he believes.
Seltzer was so inspired that he even made his own cabin action, with his own logo and the hashtag “cabin action” on Instagram. He thinks most Norwegians have a heart for others who suffer.
– We are generous and generous people. Most Norwegians are not aristocrats. The authorities can contribute to getting the refugees integrated into society as soon as possible, then the average Norwegian can contribute with extra housing. It’s just a matter of merging heart rooms and cabin rooms, says Seltzer.
The TV profile only sees benefits of lending the cabin to refugees. Seltzer does not know when the first refugees arrive at his cabin, but one thing he is aware of:
– City Easter is underestimated, and now you get a golden opportunity to spend Easter in the city – there are two flies in one snap. It is also nice to have people in the cabins, that they are not empty.
– No sense in telling you now – I don’t wanna ruin the suprise
Seltzer is not the only one who is positive about lending the cabin. Tore Glærum and cohabitant Maren Andersen sent an e-mail to Løten municipality that they have a cabin they can lend if needed.
It happened after Maren went to the municipality’s website, where she could read that they were looking for people who had vacant housing.
– We have room to lend the cabin, and think that there is no point in it being empty. So then we wrote that we can provide a cabin, says Tore Glærum, who also has a cabin at Budor.
– COTTAGE PEOPLE: The cohabiting couple Tore Glærum and Maren Andersen are happy to lend the cabin on Budor to Ukrainian refugees. Photo: Private
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The cohabiting couple then received a reply from the municipality that they should get in touch if needed, so now the Easter holiday may have to be spent at home.
– It does not matter. We do this to help others.
He says that it is a proper “cabin-cabin”, which means that the facilities are not the most modern, but that there are beds for seven people.
– It’s really an old manor. The least we can do is make housing available and try to contribute what we can.
Touched rapporteur
Marte Larsen Tønseth (Sp) is mayor of Løten municipality. She says that lending cabins is part of a larger survey of how they can take care of the Ukrainian refugees.
– We try to be a little ahead and go wide with mapping all possibilities, including cabins. Løten municipality has a significant number of cabins that may be relevant, says Tønseth.
– MAPPING: Løten municipality has gone out of its way to help the Ukrainian refugees in the best possible way, says mayor Marte Larsen Tønseth. Photo: Dennis Andreassen
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She says that the cabin scheme has not yet been planned in detail. There is a lot that needs to be in place, and according to the mayor, the municipality will soon be inspecting to map the specific possibilities.
Løten municipality has also received notification from 15 homeowners who are willing to make the entire home or parts of the home available.
– We also have commercial buildings that can be used. We are still waiting for an official request about how many refugees we will settle, but we already know that there are several Ukrainian refugees who have come here on their own initiative, says Tønseth.
The mayor is warm-hearted as she talks about the great commitment of the locals.
– I am very grateful to everyone who signs up. There are many others who have also signed up for other types of services, such as arranging food or being an interpreter. I’m very moved. There is a great deal of goodwill among the population and many very kind-hearted inhabitants, she says.
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