Manchester Aid for Calais

Project aim

We are going to Calais to deliver aid for refugees in the camp there.

About the project

So I (Becx) saw the news in Calais, and shared a lot of articles, and ranted a bit, but that didn't feel enough.

I thought I should actually do something. Sinead thought the same. We got chatting, and then she mentioned Sam, who had a van. And that's how it started.

On the 4^th September, myself (Becx), Sinead and Sam went on a trip to Calais and spent three days with people there, chatting, drinking brews and seeing how we could help. We made some amazing new friends and were able to give them gifts from the supplies donated, and from the monies given, to make areal small practical difference in the lives of the people we met. (For more on that, see our FB Page Calais Trip)

We are not an aid agency, or a charity. We are just three (slightly crazy) people from Manchester who wanted to make some kind of difference with the limited time and resources we have.

Secours Catholique clothing store are now not taking donations until November, which means any distributions will need to be done person to person. There are some amazing charities doing large-scale drops from the back of vans, but we do not have the resources to do that, nor are we sure it is the right approach for us.

Our strengths are in friendship not charity: meeting people, making friends, sharing stories and giving gifts to individuals.

So,with that said, we are planning future trips to Calais. We may do a trip on foot, in the interim, and then gear up to our next trip in the van.

We have been overwhelmed by the messages of support so far. Please help us to keep helping people.