A happy Easter in North London after a visit from our Easter bunnies!

It’s been a happy Easter for our friends in North London – and a busy one for our volunteers. We distributed over 600 Easter eggs this weekend, as well as boxes and boxes of dates for Ramadan. What a fabulous day for everyone – long but so worth it. The guys loved us wishing them both Happy Easter and Ramadan Kareem.

Some guys arrived on a bus from Napier Barracks when we were at Brent Cross. They weren’t expecting to be met with such a reception! They went from looking cautious to cracking big smiles when they saw that we were with Care4Calais who they already know from Napier.

A few of our friends in the hotels, both Muslims and Christians, helped us to give everything out. It’s so important that everyone is included. They have been there for many months now, so we know them well. All said they are keen to help out because they want to repay some of the help we’ve given them. They are very appreciative, and also brilliant fun.

Earlier on Friday the older kids were at school, so our volunteers spent some time with the tiny ones – like E, pictured, who didn’t stop blowing Charlotte (the Easter bunny) kisses. We stayed around to meet the older kids after school and see their reactions to the Easter surprise as well.

Next week, we will be back for another big distribution of vitamins, fresh food and Ramadan dates. We are blown away at the generosity of our donors. A big thanks especially to Winchmore Hill United Reformed Church, Cooking Champions, and Exodus YouthWorx UK, as well as friends and kind local people who contributed. We organised a fundraiser to buy more treats – it was so beautiful to see the whole community getting behind our efforts.

The best part was seeing the everyine so happy and laughing. We sit with them through many dark times and so often we are there to solve problems. It was a lovely change to just have some fun.

To support our work go to Care4Calais.org/donate