Care4Calais refugee charity heads to France from Portsmouth with donations for 'vulnerable' people
Portsmouth delegation of refugee charity heads to France
Volunteers from Portsmouth are headed to France loaded with donations for refugees who are planning to come to the United Kingdom.
Care4Calais is a charity that helps support refugees living in the UK and Northern France, and a delegation from Portsmouth have collected donations to help those in need across the English Channel.
Alan Burgess, Care4Calais Portsmouth delegation member, has helped organise the trip to Calais. From warm clothes to tents, the donated goods will be travelling to France on Friday, May 22 along with other delegates from across the country. The charity states that there are around 700 refugees living in and around Calais with many sleeping rough.
Speaking at Portsmouth Guildhall on Thursday, May 21 where they were beginning their journey, Alan said: “These young people are under enormous strain as they have had long journeys across Europe and they need warm clothing and tents. .
“Earlier in the year we went to a Stand Up To Racism conference and Care4Calais were there doing a workshop where they invited us to contribute and the plan emerged from there. We are combined with 17 other individuals from around the country and they are all going over to Calais.
“I am really looking forward to it now, it has been a little nerve wracking getting all the organisation right and the donations right but that's all in place now and we are really looking forward to having a great trip.”
There to wave them off and support the efforts of the group and the local residents who have helped collect donations for the cause was Cllr Cal Corkery. The independent councillor for the Charles Dickens ward believes that the cause can help bring people together.
He said: “I think it is really important, particularly at the moment with the way politics is and how divided society is. I think it is important that we try and bring people together by looking after the vulnerable and the people that are most in need.”
Alan added: “ I think Calais will really appreciate the contribution from Portsmouth people.”
More details on Care4Calais can be found at https://care4calais.org/.