As reported in October’s Messenger, Stuart and Fran visited the refugee camp in Calais in November, taking over donations of aid they collected in Sheffield.
Fran Belbin writes:
We spent five days in Calais – half the time volunteering at the warehouse where aid donations are sorted and prepared for distribution to refugees, the rest of the time helping out in the camp itself.
The camp was better organised than we had imagined, thanks to the hard work of refugees and volunteers. They have built structures out of wood and tarpaulins, including a library, a school room and an information centre, as well as small huts for the most vulnerable. But many are still relying on flimsy tents to live in and everything is really fragile.
While we were there, the wind and rain were horrendous, tents were flying all over the place and the roof was being blown off the library. With so many people relying on candles for light, fires are frequent and very damaging: 40 homes were destroyed by fire on the last night we were there. As long as there is no political will amongst governments to resolve the situation, the need for aid will be ongoing. The volunteer organisation we worked with is currently appealing for donations of food and cash to feed the few thousand people in the camps at Calais and Dunkirk.
We will certainly be going back. We still have donations to take over that wouldn’t fit in the van first time around and money that we have collected to fund future aid trips.”
For the full story of Fran and Stuart’s trip read the blog, https://pitsmoorcalais.wordpress.com.
To donate to the Calais kitchens appeal, go to https://www.youcaring.com/refugees-in-the-calaisrefugee-camp-492878