By shifting the gaze from state actors, NGOs and migrants to exploring the practices of volunteers adds nuances to the dynamics of the camp. £217k Choose Love shop Total £10.7mil 2016 Choose Love Campaign Corporates In just over 3 years, they have built a strong charitable brand over social media, recruiting over 17.5k Twitter followers, 34.6k Instagram followers, 56.5k Facebook supporters, and just under 400 YouTube subscribers. Help Refugees works in collaboration with Indigo Volunteers to connect volunteers with grassroots projects responding to the refugee crisis in northern France. Every volunteer I encountered gave their all to what could at times be mundane or frustrating tasks. Portugal. Our partners are always in need of dedicated and enthusiastic volunteers. One of the charities, Help Refugees, has been operating in Calais since September 2015 and has a warehouse based there. Volunteer Projects in Africa. Whether you can give two days, two weeks or two months, we need your help! A giant banana onesie? It is easy to feel helpless with a crisis of this scale, however, there are so many ways people can offer support. Help With COVID-19 By browsing you agree to our use of them. AirBnB accommodation (from approx. ACCOMMODATION. The refugees haven’t been given the equipment they need – the mayor in Calais has given the camp just TWO skips for rubbish, which is ridiculous. For the last few years, they have run a huge warehouse where volunteers have sorted clothes, tents and toiletries supplies for mass distribution to refugees in Northern France. Naturally, in the days since, people have been asking me, ‘How was Calais?’ It’s not an easy question to answer, particularly because I’m not sure that my answer is exactly the answer people might be looking for. I don’t have any heartstring-tugging photos (except for of some cats, who live at the warehouse, if you happen to be a cat person…). The Help Refugees slogan is a simple one, but sums up everything that needs to be said. There are multiple ways that you can get involved with our organization: Are some lives more worthy of saving than others that we only take action when the media reminds us of the children? A year 5 student asked me today: “Is it bad to be a refugee? Everything on the menu is a dish his mother cooked in Syria. These experiences are ultimately incomprehensible to anyone who has not been through them. Can we only be expected to care if provided with just the right image to tug on the heartstrings? Take some time to find out more about what is going on: all the organisations mentioned above post regular updates on social media and their websites. enquiries@equaliteach.co.uk, Contact an individual in our team Youth Hostel For volunteers staying for three or more nights, there is a discounted rate at a local hostel. Equaliteach CIC In France, Help Refugees and Care4Calais both need voluntary support on the ground, as well as some other organisations: –Dunkirk Women and Children’s Centre– who are really in need of anyone available to help rebuild the centre, especially volunteers with practical skills and experience in this area. We can help, we can change things, if we work together, and if we Choose Love. Thank you! Choose Love is a restricted fund under the auspices of Prism the Gift Fund, UK Charity No 1099682. People may be almost disappointed to know I didn’t meet or directly work with a single refugee. And finally, nothing with any flags or countries printed on. Empathy please. Notes * I watched the documentary with two volunteers who’ve been working in Calais for over a year; another who’s been involved for over two years; and two of us who’ve been volunteering here full time for about three months. Choose Love is a grassroots charity, with various projects based in Calais through to Syria. Your email address will not be published. If not money, which is vital for the distribution of supplies across the continent, with one shipping container costing £3500, then practical donations are gratefully received. Featured Programs See All Programs. More, Our incredible partners support over 1,500 people in Calais & Dunkirk. A lot of the time we rely on media outlets to keep us up to date, and this leaves us vulnerable to the intrinsic bias of the media, who decide what to report and how to report it. Help Refugees Limited, Company No 09842577, works under the auspices of Prism the Gift Fund, Charity No 1099682. There is a frustrating apathy and lack of awareness in the UK, which together we can turn into curiosity and a galvanised force for change. Help Refugees was born. These are documented with a profile online to show refugees, and everyone, that there is solidarity and support out there. Chopping onions to pumping tunes. The day aims to inspire […], Terminology around issues of equality and diversity is a sticking point for many people. A crisis of this scale might feel like big news, but there are peaks and troughs of coverage as other things catch peoples’ interest, or other events occur, which can allow the refugee crisis to fade to the back of peoples’ minds, or imply that it’s not so bad anymore. July 10, 2019 / ... Calais may have been out of the media spotlight for the last couple of years but that doesn’t mean that the problem, or the people, have disappeared. I packed bags of urgently required donations to send to refugees in Dunkirk, with their dignity in mind. Many were not registered in time to be accounted for when accommodation was arranged, were not placed in centres, or have left the centres (for various reasons), so there are refugees camping or sleeping rough across France, and there is an official camp, smaller than the jungle, based in Dunkirk. But do we always need to fully understand or relate to an experience to empathise? Your email address will not be published. Weʼre raising money to to take to Calais when volunteering with Help Refugees. That people will treat you badly even after you have been through unimaginable trauma. Find out more about our work. Keep your eye out for things like the Borderline play recently shown at the Cockpit theatre in London; events like Help Refugees’ ‘Choose Love’, which involved some great nights of live music in London; and other creative events across the country. Networking and Connection (with each other and the Choose Love team) Early Access to New Programs and Revisions Please note: because this is a new and improved platform, everyone will need to register again – even if you have registered in the past. It is not just the work on the ground in France and beyond which matters. This could range from helping out in the warehouse to translating for detained refugees in detention centres. Indigo Volunteers focus on matching your skills and availability to projects in need of help. To find out more about volunteering, go to the Indigo Volunteers website, and if you have any further questions, please contact volunteer@indigovolunteers.org. 36€ a night) is popular in Calais, we recommend that women book in pairs or groups when booking rooms in a shared AirBnB apartments, there have been incidents and it is preferable that volunteers err on the side of safety.. It was hard to comprehend that thousands of people were living in basic shelters, or sleeping on the streets in simple sleeping bags in freezing cold temperatures, which had me wearing five layers and still feeling cold. AID workers in the Calais Jungle have been accused of having sex with migrants – in some cases with multiple partners a day. My experience was one of community, positivity, support, strength and spirit.  The official camp in Calais, referred to as the ‘Jungle,’ was demolished in October 2016 (more info following the demolition can be found here). ), take a picture of it, and add a note or message of support for refugees. Choose Your Destination. It’s often really difficult here in the UK to have a full grasp of what is going on with the refugee crisis in France or elsewhere. EqualiTeach is a not-for-profit organisation providing high quality, interactive training and support on issues of equality, diversity and inclusion. Despite the demolition of the Calais ‘Jungle’ camp, thousands of refugees are still in Northern France. People face a great many barriers in understanding […]. I worked for four days in the warehouse, sorting through clothes, ensuring they were clearly organised, labelled and ready to be sent to where they’re needed most. It’s sometimes the little things that make a difference: sending a set of Spiderman pyjamas to a two year-old boy, hoping he likes them better than the equally warm, but rather random mismatched alternatives. Our site uses cookies. Suite 11, 31a St Neots Road, St Neots, Cambridgeshire, PE19 7BA, 01480 470660 by EqualiTeach | Published 16th August 2017-at dimensions 959 × 476 in Choose Love: My Volunteer Experience In Calais. A whistleblower took to Facebook to accuse volunteers … There are also organisations based in Dunkirk, for example the Women and Children’s centre, which offers a safe place to go during the day, with regular classes, workshops and games taking place. Volunteer. But instead, I choose to write about Love. Does it mean you don’t have the same rights, or aren’t treated the same as everybody else?” I asked him, “What do you think the answer is, or should be?”, “I think, the answer should be that refugees have the same rights and are treated the same as everyone else. No matter how much time I spend in Calais or Dunkirk or elsewhere, I can’t ever truly understand or represent the experience of the refugees. That it is not ok to be a refugee, that it is a bad thing to seek safety and security for you and your family. It was distressing to hear that the first night I was there, the camp in Dunkirk had experienced a tear-gas raid from French authorities. 170 Likes, 3 Comments - Choose Love / Help Refugees (@chooselove) on Instagram: “Calais Update - dismantlements and crimes of solidarity Another large scale dismantlement at the…” It’s run incredibly democratically, with long-term volunteers taking the lead on co-ordinating different areas, but always open to new ideas, input and expertise. It’s a simple but powerful message and it goes to the heart of everything we do. Volunteer at Imad’s Syrian Kitchen x Choose Love. You can still help by donating good. Learn what items we need now! It’s best to always check for up-to-date information about which items are currently needed, but at the moment there is a real need for: From my experience in the warehouse I unfortunately have to specify not to donate dirty clothes… remember the people who will be using or wearing the donations.  Ask yourself what you would like to be given to keep yourself warm after a long, arduous and often emotional journey: someone’s old bobbly jumper with holes in the armpits? Some were there for months, some just for a day, but all there with the goal of helping refugees, and standing up against a huge humanitarian crisis. Volunteers and refugees alike work incredibly hard to make a dent clearing the waste on Saturday, side by side, united together. Larger organisations, for example the UNHCR (The United Nations Refugee Agency), are also providing various forms of humanitarian assistance. … It highlights how volunteers are placed right in the middle of the two dominating debates within migration studies: power over migrants and power of migrants, which in effect places the volunteers in an interesting position of power. This is what we are showing our children. To ensure safe and responsible volunteering, all organisations have conducted a thorough risk assessment of their operations. And so, the final question: What can we do to help? coordinate volunteers and set up a system of aid distribution in the Calais ‘Jungle’ refugee camp. Choose Love. CHOOSE LOVE … More, Visit our partner Indigo Volunteers’ website to find out how you can support refugees in Greece, Bosnia and Serbia More. Find out which items are most needed in Calais so that you know what to bring when you come to volunteer. A silk nightie? There are a multitude of charities and grassroots organisations working tirelessly to support the refugees: providing shelters, food, clothes donations as well as practical support such as legal advice and guidance with asylum applications. Register Login Donate Login Donate Perhaps not. Get involved with campaigns and marches; put pressure on the government by writing to your MP about the crisis, letting them know your views. Each purchase comes with a beautiful, easy to share e-card. ), are resold to volunteers and their friends and all the money goes directly back into the charity. by Sal Chaffey At the first aid station in Calais a few weeks ago, I taught a 17-year-old Eritrean boy how to play Noughts and Crosses while he told me about his dream of becoming a nurse in the UK. Volunteer The organisations working in Calais are always keen for volunteers, especially in the wintertime where numbers dwindle, and need is highest. Not the BBC, it seems…, Outside the Box: Considering Gender Equality on International Women’s Day, EqualiTeach Submission to Women and Equalities Committee Call for Evidence on Proposed Changes to the Gender Recognition Act 2004, ‘Anecdote, Assumption and Prejudice’ – A Call to Re-examine the Way we Speak About Asylum, Black History Month: Overcoming the Barriers to Taking Part, Solidarity over Division: Speaking out against Antisemitism. Are many organisations offering support on the ground in Calais so that you know what to when. We can help, we can help, we can change things if... Of community, positivity, support, strength and spirit further reading will treat you badly even after you been... Has been operating in Calais, from talking to other volunteers and their friends and all the money directly... Diversity and inclusion was moved by the immediacy with which I felt part the! To tug on the menu is a not-for-profit organisation providing high quality, training! 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