For several years, I have been working alongside Just Shelter, a charity based in Earlsfield, South London, which is committed to raising awareness about difficulties faced by people seeking asylum in Europe and the UK. They also regularly raise funds to support partner organisations working with communities here and in Northern France. My remit is to document visits so that Just Shelter followers get to see how donations go directly to people who need them.
Recently Just Shelter ran a campaign collecting funds and donations to make toiletry packs. We took these packs to a local Care4Calais distribution centre where they were gladly accepted. In fact, we’d only been there a few moments when Clare, who runs the centre, told us how pleased she was to have toothbrushes for people wanting them, some of whom had been in London for just a few days.
The centre was busy and the volunteers worked hard while patient people gave their details and requested items and services they needed. I felt lucky to have had time to laugh with a young girl who explained why she wanted her shoes on the wrong feet, and that her favourite bit of cake was the icing. She also showed a keen interest in my camera, and can’t have been much more than three years old.
The final words of this blog come from Clare who has worked for Care4Calais in London throughout the pandemic making sure people have access to clothes, legal aid and English classes.
I volunteered in Calais just before lockdown. Back in the U.K. afterwards I saw a FB post asking for help for a refugee who needed clothes. I thought, I can do that, and took him some. And I soon realised there was a real need for this kind of support. It was a bit overwhelming at first trying to cope, but once we recruited a team of volunteers it’s been great. I’m amazed and delighted by people’s generosity and their enthusiasm. We now have a regular drop in, Zoom meetings for some collective thinking and lots of people collecting via their local social networks, contacting organisations to ask for help and volunteering in and out of our drop-in. I think everyone benefits from contact with the residents. It’s humbling to know what they’ve been through ( and still are going through) and rewarding to be able to help in small ways. And you meet lots of nice people! To be honest, the work we do is common sense. You help with access to information ( which we have) for lawyers, schools and health services; we offer clothes and other necessities; but most of all we offer a friendly face. That’s the biggest gift anyone can offer. One of the great things about Care4Calais is that there are volunteer groups up and down the country and via WhatsApp groups we share information. We can follow refugees between us as they get moved. And it’s a fantastic resource of information to know what’s happening to people across the country. It’s been time-consuming but I have no regrets about doing it. These people need our help. They’re on our doorstep and I hope if our kids were in a crisis somewhere in the world, that neighbours would help them out as we are doing now.
Clare, Care4Calais, London, 2021
When Just Shelter learnt of the need Clare describes above, they contacted Care4Calais, put a call out for local volunteers and now provide weekly support at two locations doing food distribution and offering other forms of help where possible.
Follow Just Shelter on Facebook here. See other news about Just Shelter’s activities and find out how you can support them here.
All images taken during a visit to a distribution centre run by Clare on behalf of Care4Calais in April 2021 (c)SJField2021