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“My friend explained that she was attending a car-share convoy trip to travel to Calais with a RefYouMe team who would help introduce her to volunteer work with Refugee NGO’s. I realised this would be a good way for me to learn what really happens behind the news stories and learn about the situation for myself. So I signed up on the website.
I met some of the team at Bath train station then we shared cars to travel to the Channel crossing, picking up more volunteers along the way. It was good to travel with others who had not done volunteering before and also hear from team members who had previous experience.
I didn’t know what to expect for the weekend’s tasks but knew that RefYouMe had our travel & accommodation planned and that two charity organisations in Calais were expecting us.
We all went as a team to work at Refugee Community Kitchen for the first day. The managers were expecting us and gave us a very warm welcome. They guided us with kitchen jobs throughout so that by the end of the day we had helped prepare over 800 hot meals and cakes for an Eritrean religious celebration day.
The work guidance and briefings were equally as good at Care4Calais so that we could all feel useful as part of the bigger teams. I appreciated the clear structured operations we were introduced to and found it was easy to join in the warehouse activities – ready to distribute aid to the displaced families later in the day.
As well as the work days I could spend the evening catching up with my friend over supper and a lunch break on the beach. A really different type of reunion weekend – I recommend you give it a go.”
Lucy
Thank you, Lucy, for making a difference in Calais. We are so grateful to you for sharing your experience with us.
If you’ve been inspired by Lucy’s story and would like to explore opportunities to volunteer yourself, you might find the following blog helpful – How to volunteer in Calais: supported vs self-organised trips.
You can also explore our upcoming trip dates and the NGOs we’ll be supporting here.
If you can spare a weekend and the cost of the trip then we will organise everything else to get you to Calais, so you can see for yourself the importance of direct support and giving and the difference you can make.
All donated funds are directed to the grassroots charities on the ground helping refugees in Calais and used for the most urgent requirements and those most desperately in need. If you would rather purchase an item of need please go to our shop and see exactly where you money goes.
