Sara, a volunteer, describes volunteering in Paris

This week we were able to help nearly 500 of the refugees sleeping rough in Paris – thanks to kind donations and the hard work of 7 wonderful volunteers.

We met many young men, and lots of women and children. We couldn’t change their difficult reality but we hopefully made things a little easier with duvets, tents, jumpers, hundreds of socks, sim-cards, packs of dry fruit, and other essential items.

“Many people are really kind and thankful for what we give them, others get disappointed because we don’t have enough for all. There’s around 3000 refugees in Paris and you can see them sleeping on the borders of the streets and highways in their tents, if they have one, just next to luxurious cars or hotels. At first this made me feel bad – sleeping in a good room with space for maybe 10 or more people to be inside at night. But I am forced to see them there on the border of the street and can’t do anything to change the situation apart from giving a tent to some of them… But not losing hope is the first thing we need to keep in mind and many people I met here are the ones that keep teaching me how much a human being can handle and still be able to be thankful for the help he gets, thankful for the little good of the present and to smile whilst hoping for better.”