This past weekend the team were once again back in action in the camps in Northern France.  A joint action between LCYH and Refugee Aide – Volunteer Support created by Richard Turk.

Our teams joined forces and donations to make an even deeper impact across the Jungle camp in Calais and in Dunkerque.

We loaded up in Friday night with the fantastic donations of clothes and food boxes. We complimented these with a trip to Carrefour and bought up nearly every orange in Croissy-sur-Seine.

After an early start on Saturday the team working in L’Auberge des Migrants warehouse arrived for the morning briefing at 9 in Calais. Sadly, numbers of volunteers are down dramatically vs last month. Only 16 people turned up at the briefing in Calais. BUT with tasks assigned (Rob in the wood chopping team, Alison in the Calais Kitchen, Beth, Reid, Micaela and Richard on the clothes  sorting table) we went at it for the morning.

Many many thanks to Daniele Ruff and ESAT/Avenir Apei for the loan of the truck! The truck full of your goodies piloted by the Lions Club team made its way to the Calais warehouse, dropped it’s valuable cargo and headed to Dunkerque to drop at the Salam association with much needed tinned fruit and biscuits to help with their almost daily 2-400 meals they distribute at Grande Synthe.

With the €600 in cash raised from Zoé Dickson and the students of the Lycée International (thank you!) and supplemented by Lux Perpetua Choir Bob and his team made a very much needed visit to Decathlon and bought up 37 x pairs of trainers using money donated by you which will be distributed by SALAM to Grande Synthe refugees where needed.

At the Calais kitchen supplies were running a little low, so we arranged a trip to Lidl and bought out the local supply of onions and garlic. Brought back to the Calais Kitchen the team there made up the daily hot food supplies and distribution was made.

Meanwhile Tony, Bruno and Wendy met with and visited a small association  “Le Reveil voyageur”. They began by providing morning coffee, croissants and bread, delivered daily to the main refugee site in Calais. They have since broadened their activities providing what’s needed on a daily basis guided by the discussions with individuals and small groups that they have progressively befriended over the past few months. They now provide items of clothing, household effects, French language training and try to respond to iother simp^le demands coming from the refugees themselves.

The Reveil Voyageur held a small but well but well attended exhibition about the interests and lives of the refugees as refugees.