Fantastic news from Calais!
Fantastic news from Calais! A court in northern France has finally ordered the authorities to lift their ban on distributing food to refugees. These bans have been in place for two years and prevented us from giving food to hungry people in all but a few small areas – areas that kept changing, making our operation very difficult. The court heard that although a La Vie Active single French state-endorsed agency, was allowed to distribute food and drink, in reality it did not distribute enough food for refugees to get three meals a day. And that meant they were going …
Distributing new joggers to refugees in Calais
This afternoon we gave out more than 300 pairs of new joggers to refugees in Calais. Joggers are really popular, so there was a great atmosphere with people laughing and joking – happy to receive their new, comfortable trousers. I was shocked to notice that a couple of people were still wearing the joggers from the last time we distributed them over two months ago. Having to wear the same pair everyday, and living outside, these were now muddy and starting to get holes in them, so I was relieved we were giving more. “It’s good for me to have …
Distributing flyers in Dunkirk
This afternoon I took all 25 volunteers to the Dunkirk camp, and the whole journey there I couldn’t help thinking I’d made a mistake. Dunkirk is a very changeable place, so we never know how many people we will see. I couldn’t help thinking I’d brought too many people; we were going to overwhelm the site and there wouldn’t be enough jobs for all the volunteers to do so. But I was so wrong! We had such a busy afternoon – at one point I counted three separate football games and a big cricket match down on the main …
Covid-19 survey: Food and shelter fears worse than ever
Over the last two weeks we surveyed 150 refugees across Calais and Dunkirk to gather data on the impacts of Covid-19. We want to assess both our own response and most-needed actions. The results are interesting. Almost half (48%) of those we talked to have only been in Calais for three months or less. This is a reminder of how transitory the population is – particularly given that for the last month there have been rigid travel restrictions in France and the rate of new arrivals has dropped. Only 14 people told us that Coronavirus was a primary concern for …
Superstar companies donate thousands of hand sanitisers to Calais
We have the most amazing news! Last week we posted a heartrending story: an Iranian refugee asked one of our team in Calais if we could distribute hand sanitiser. “We need it,” he said. “There is sickness and we can’t wash our hands.” All she could do was hand over the one bottle she had for her personal use. The refugees don’t have access to running water to wash their hands, but with prices so high we can’t afford to buy sufficient quantities to distribute – it’s heartbreaking. Since then something wonderful has happened. THREE separate companies saw our post …
Emergency appeal for Calais – please share
This is today’s shopping list. Each week, to feed every site in Calais and Dunkirk, we need to make 330 food parcels at a cost of approximately €4,450. This is incredibly hard to sustain, but right now we have no choice. We can no longer buy in bulk from the UK and we are clearing shelves at three Lidls in Calais every other day. Our volunteers are working long hours to make up hundreds of nutritious packs each morning. Refugees and migrants in Dunkirk and Calais are under threat from coronavirus (COVID-19) and also from lack of food. Please support …
Refugees are more scared of starving than of coronavirus
This weekend we took 50 big family food parcels and 480 blankets to Dunkirk. The food situation there is deteriorating rapidly as volunteers pull out and services shut down. We distributed the food packs by going into the site and giving tickets to families or groups who cook together. Then the people bring the ticket to our van to collect the food parcel and blankets. My job this week was to wait with the van for them to arrive. I’ve done this before so was I not concerned with our team being small, but the current food shortage made the …