Changing my life to help refugees

This little pocket, hand-sewn for me by a little girl in a refugee camp at Dunkirk, is very special. It reminds me of the day I changed my life to help refugees.

When I was volunteering at the camp, I helped with sewing sessions, which were particularly popular with children in the camp. One little girl who loved cutting out love-hearts and sewing them onto things, made me this pocket. I remember that one of her friends often used to stand behind her to watch, without taking part.

When I got back home, I saw a news report that some children in a family travelling across the channel had died on the crossing. I later realised one of them was the girl who had stood watching us.  She had a little brother as well, a baby, who had a small starfish onesie, and he had died as welI. I was heartbroken, and I kept thinking about how easy it had been for me to come back using the Channel Tunnel. That was what really decided it for me, in the sense of continuing my involvement.

In the end I decided to drop my application to study for a masters in politics, and to pursue a career in law instead, because that meant I could give practical help to people like those I’d met in Dunkirk.

– Erin,  Care4Calais volunteer, North Berwick