Meet the refugees who became regular volunteers
This lovely guy next to me is 22-year-old Hamdi from Sudan. We met a couple of months ago when I took him to a lawyer’s appointment and he’s since become one of our most dedicated volunteers. A few days ago I invited him to a clothing distribution near his hotel at 12pm, but when I turned up at 9.30am to set up everything he was already there waiting! He didn’t even offer to help – he just came down early and got stuck in. Hamdi is one of three refugees in the hotel who volunteer with us, but we …
All hands on deck to fix torn-up winter coats
Yesterday our distribution in Calais started out fairly quiet. We thought it would be an unusually easy afternoon until suddenly a group of guys came up to our sewing station. They all took off their winter coats and showed us large rips on each one that needed urgent fixing. I knew we would have to knuckle down to get this done in time, because if we failed they would have nothing warm to wear that evening in two-degree weather. So we got to work, even recruiting a group of volunteers from the hot drinks station to help us. I …
Meet Clover and Dulcie, mother-daughter dream team
This is me and Dulcie, the mother-daughter dream team in Calais. I’m one of the oldest volunteers here and at 18 she’s certainly the youngest. I can’t tell you how proud I am of her for what she’s doing, but I must admit I was slightly apprehensive about coming with her. I was concerned that it might be too much for us to handle. For my part, I was worried I might not have the emotional strength to cope with the things we would see – and I was uncertain as to how Dulcie would react. But what I found …
Giving a new life to an old coat
Seeing where your donation ends up is such a rewarding part of being a volunteer. I learned that this week when my 15-year-old son (in this photo) decided he finally outgrew his favourite coat and needed a new one. I asked him to donate it to a refugee, which he was happy to do as long as I promised that his beloved coat was going to be appreciated. I took it with me to our distribution at a London hotel but held onto it while I waited for that special someone to come along. That afternoon, we noticed three or …
Duvets and tents taken to Paris after mass eviction
Last night we drove to Paris with a van packed full of winter supplies following the dreadful news of mass evictions a few days ago. We first went to drop off tents, duvets and warm clothes to the incredible Danika who will distribute them to hundreds of refugees in the capital. Thanks to your generous donations we were able to take boxes full of winter clothes and around 70 tents and duvets to help keep many people in Paris warm. Danika told us these are very needed right now because many refugees there are still wearing thin jackets or using …
Volunteer and refugees form ultimate UK support bubble
Knowing that my first year of university would be online left me feeling isolated and alone in a very new situation. I would probably still be staring out the window of a cold room in Manchester feeling sorry for myself if it weren’t for two French-speaking refugees. They reached out to me a few weeks ago for urgent support while in a crisis, but it was them who ended up helping me survive this second lockdown. Meeting people in a crisis isn’t always smooth, and I can’t pretend it hasn’t been stressful at times. But then again, I think I …
Meet the refugee who gave up his winter coat
Today I witnessed something I’ll never forget. During our distribution near Slough I met a man from Yemen who was thrilled to find a lovely winter coat in his favourite colour. It fit him so well, as if it was made for him. Then he spotted another guy wearing nothing but a thin long-sleeved shirt. Our distribution was already winding down by that point, so we didn’t have much left. All the winter coats had been taken. I wanted to help the man with no coat but it would have to wait until our next visit. Or so I thought. …
Actor David Schneider joins #Coats4Calais campaign
You probably know David Schneider as the man who acted in Alan Partridge, wrote movies with Armando Iannucci or performed in BBC sitcoms. But did you know he is also the child of a refugee? The British actor’s mother was a refugee in the 1930s when she escaped from the Nazis. Her life story taught him that just a slight twist in fortune can mean you suddenly find yourself homeless or displaced. That being able to lead a privileged life is an accident of birth, so you should do whatever you can to help those who aren’t quite as lucky. …
Warmth always comes first
I wanted to share a story that always makes me laugh about the cheery man who is the face of our #Coats4Calais campaign this year. I was helping at a winter coats distribution in Brussels one day when I first met him. He came up to me and was adamant that he wanted a black coat with a fur hood. That’s right – it had to be black and it had to have a fur hood. That was the style he liked. It was actually quite quiet so I was happy to look for something in our van that fit …
Lord Dubs joins #Coats4Calais campaign
Massive thanks to the incredible Lord Alf Dubs for joining our #Coats4Calais campaign! Alf has donated this lovely winter coat to keep a refugee warm and is asking others to do the same if they can. To donate a coat or to help us buy one for just £20, go to care4calais.org/coats4calais …
