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This week we were proud and delighted to welcome Diane Abbott the Labour MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington, to a distribution at a London hotel we support.   As one of the MPs supporting our proposed amendment to the Illegal Migration bill, she wanted to see how we worked, and to meet refugees so she could understand their experiences in the UK. The distribution of clothes and other essentials had a especially warm feeling as it was for Ramadan, so there were some decorations and activities such as henna hand painting.   At the hotel Diane’s warmth, dedication …

Every morning our Calais warehouse is a hive of busy activity, but this morning, for a just few minutes, it was different. Because this morning we all sat down to write to our MPs about the Government’s Illegal Migration Bill. So often we talk to people who are fleeing for their lives, and they tell us they place all their hopes of safety in the UK to shelter them. So many times I have been told stories of people who have been rescued from the Mediterranean when their boats sank, but they will risk their lives again because they have …

Without wonder-women like these, nothing we do would be possible. Your donations arrive at our warehouse in a jumble of clothes, colours and sizes. Before they can go out for distribution, they need to be sorted into types and sizes of clothing, and then packed and stored. Because of your generosity this is a mammoth job, and we all owe a mammoth debt to the volunteers who come to the warehouse and do that sorting. They are so efficient it takes your breath away, their cheerfulness lights the place up; new recruits are always remarking on the brilliant atmosphere and …

Yesterday I went with some other volunteers to a local supermarket to pile our trolleys up with 200 bottles of orange juice and 100 bags of flour. When one of the shoppers noticed the flour she laughed, and asked us in French if we were going to be making a lot of bread that afternoon 😂 In fact, we were buying these extra supplies for the food packs for Ramadan, which begins this evening. Many of the refugees in northern France are Muslim, and observing the fast here is difficult for them; they’re cold and hungry at the best of …

When my 18-year-old son left home to go to university my husband and I were heartbroken. We were, and are still, so worried about him. He might be 18 but he’s still our baby. And still we worry. Is he eating properly? Is he safe? Has he got friends? We know exactly where he is and we know that he has the money to feed and clothe himself. We know that he is as safe as any 18-year-old could be. We know he is 18 – a man. Yet still I worry. He has not left our home with the …

  “The thing about the Government’s new policy is it’s so divisive, you can’t sit on the fence any more,” a lady said to me today, as we walked down Regent Street together on the Anti-Racism march. “I think that’s why a lot of people are here. I wouldn’t normally come, to be honest. But there comes a point where you feel you want to do something, and say, not in my name.” Just up ahead of me I watched an older man with a stick. He walked the length of the demo without taking a break. Ordinary people can …

  These beautiful plates were painted by refugee children at a family group our volunteers help with at a London hotel. Their designs are simple, but to the mums receiving them, they’re treasures, with deeper meanings than we can guess at. One of the ladies, for example, had relatives caught in the earthquake in Syria; her daughter’s message was also for them, and together they sent photographs of their plate to everyone at home as a way of showing they were thinking of them. When you’re a refugee family in a hotel room in a strange new country, you don’t …

  There has never been a more important time to take a stand and say that refugees are welcome here. Because all that it takes for evil to flourish is for good men to stand by and do nothing. As part of a global day of anti-racist protest, Care4Calais will be marching in solidarity alongside Stand Up To Racism and Trades Union Congress (TUC) in London on March 18, 2023. Demonstrations will also take place in Cardiff and Glasgow. This moment could be a turning point in our history, and we need to ensure that fairness prevails. As governments around …

  Six months ago Maryam (that’s her in the middle of the photo) came out to Calais to volunteer with us. Deeply moved by what she saw, and determined to do something about it, she returned home to set off an amazing chain of events. At her mosque in London, her friends were so stirred by her story they immediately started fundraising and arranging events. A drama club for 40 kids. An art class for 50 women. A quiz night with 60 entrants. “These were events where we could talk about refugees as people,” Maryam told us. “And those who …

  At the weekend two mighty football teams met in a scintillating fixture. The play was fast and skilful, the passion was palpable and players and supporters alike loved every second. Ok, it wasn’t Arsenal – Man City, or Man U – Liverpool. It was in fact the long-awaited local derby between Basingstoke Care4Calais FC v Reading Care4Calais FC, with teams of refugees and volunteers competing for bragging rights. Lots of the refugees we help adore football and it’s easy to see why. However good you are, when you’re out on that pitch it’s just you, your mates and that …