Neighbours In Poplar visit refugees in Dunkerque camp with sleeping bags and food
Sister Christine Frost (third from left) and supporters at Calais refugee camp - Credit: Neighbours In Poplar
A small team of volunteers from London’s East End have been to Calais and onto the refugee camp at Dunkerque to offer help to destitute families.
Sister Christine Frost (third from left) and supporters at Calais refugee camp - Credit: Neighbours In Poplar
Members of the Neighbours in Poplar charity led by Sister Christine Frost handed out food, sleeping bags and toiletries to the needy, working with the Care 4 Calais charity.
They visited the Dunkerque camp where 1,500 men, women and children are being temporarily housed.
“We achieved our aims and were able to see for ourselves how awful the situation is,” Sister Christine said. “Nothing has got better.
“The problem is still there and will be so for a long time. It’s not other people’s story, it’s our story.
Sister Christine Frost (third from left) and supporters at Calais refugee camp - Credit: Neighbours In Poplar
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“I hope our trip will encourage others to carry out simple acts of kindness which makes a huge difference to our world.”
The 1,500 refugees previously lived in squalid conditions, surrounded by mud, rubbish and rats, in an unofficial camp nearby.
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The new camp, constructed by the city council and Médecins Sans Frontières international medical organisation provides more humane living conditions.
Accommodation is basic wooden shelters, but the surroundings are clean and safe.
Neighbours In Poplar—started by Sister Christine in 1969 to provide support to older, frail, isolated pensioners in the East End—has teamed up with Care4Calais, a British and French registered charity that delivers aid to refugees in northern France and encourages “a more welcoming” public awareness.
Volunteers provide the refugees with fresh meals, warm clothing, heating and social interaction recognising a “right to be treated in a dignified way”.
