by Joe Jeffrey
Non-profitable charity sends donated caravans to Calais to care for refugees and migrants
A UK non-profitable, grass-roots charity is sending caravans to help protect refugees stationed in Calais in time for winter.
Caravans for Calais collects donated caravans and sends them to an ungoverned, makeshift camp, currently housing around 6,000 refugees and migrants and nicknamed the “Jungle” according to charity organisers.
Since launching Caravans for Calais in September of this year, the orgainsation has managed to collect and deliver 45 caravans and has raised over £15,000 to continue its plight to help those less fortunate. The group’s Facebook has has over 1,200 members, whilst a team of 25 on the ground across Europe help coordinate the charity’s efforts.
A number of humanitarian agencies are working alongside Caravans for Calais in order to identify which refugees and migrants are in need of a caravan the most, whilst other caravans are currently being used to act as medical and dental units, as well as kitchens, in order to provide for urgent medical care and hot meals.
Caravans for Calais’ charity leader, Lea Beven, said of the initiative: “The caravans are sent as crisis shelter so that people don’t have to endure flooding, snow, wind and cold. I hope that people are less uncomfortable in a horrific situation.”
“Shelters and caravans are much better than tents,” she continued.
The Jungle has been inhabited since the early 2000s by people hoping to seek asylum in the UK. Located approximately nine miles from the Channel Tunnel, hundreds of migrants attempt to cross into Britain illegally each night, often climbing fences and jumping onto moving trucks or trains. At least 15 migrants have died in their attempt to illegally enter the UK since summer.
To find out more about the charity, click here.
What do you think of this initiative? Would you donate your old caravan to those currently residing in the “Jungle”?
