How C4C volunteers are helping refugees with school

All across the country this week children have been starting at new schools with those feelings of excitement and anxiety that we all remember so well.

But for the refugee children in our area, as well as the usual feelings, they also have worries about affording all the things they need. With just £8 per week it’s simply not possible for their parents to buy the school uniform, shoes, backpacks, pencil cases and other things their children need for the school year.

Our volunteers couldn’t bear the thought of this, so we got in touch with some of the brilliant charity organisations who have helped us in the past.

The Cowshed, based in Reading, provides clothing and other items for people facing hardship. The Brett Foundation in Maidenhead support people in poverty, and The Baby Bank provides essentials for families in extreme need. We rallied together and have spent much of August measuring up and organising fittings.

The result is that more than 80 refugee children have been kitted out – that’s 80 families who know their children can set off for school without worrying about whether they’ll have all the stuff the teachers expect.

But that wasn’t all. Knowing that families have no spare cash for bus fares to and from school, our inspirational volunteers organised a School Starters party. Parents who came along could meet each other and make friends, which in turn enabled them to organise sharing the job of walking the children to and from school.

These small things will make so much different to these families this week and throughout the school year – thank you to the volunteers and organisations who made it possible.

– S, volunteer

To volunteer or donate go to care4calais.org