SEEKING SANCTUARY
A small organisation promoting awareness of migrants near our shores and providing humanitarian assistance to those currently stranded in and near Calais.
DUNKIRK WOMEN'S CENTRE
REFUGEE COMMUNITY KITCHEN (CALAIS)
HELP REFUGEES / AUBERGE DES MIGRANTS WAREHOUSE
CARE4CALAIS WAREHOUSE
Please note the items that are NOT needed -- and the strongly preferred sorting and labelling methods.
A small organisation promoting awareness of migrants near our shores and providing humanitarian assistance to those currently stranded in and near Calais.
Read our latest news updates; use the "Contact" tab to subscribe to email alerts.
Prayers for migrants and their plight can be found here.- About 'Seeking Sanctuary'.
We aim to raise awareness about the situation of people displaced from their homes and to channel basic humanitarian assistance from Faith Communities and Community Organisations through partnerships with experienced aid workers. We have a special concern for those who arrive in north-western France, mistakenly expecting to be welcomed to the UK. Almost all of the 8,000+ migrants in Calais in October 2016 were moved away, hopefully to better accommodation. 1616 unaccompanied minors were also moved, along with hundreds of vulnerable women and children, hoping that their claims to stay in the UK or France would be processed. Many judge that they have been let down, and hundreds have returned to sleep rough near Calais and along the coast. The Grande-Synthe camp near Dunkirk burnt down in April 2017, displacing round 1400 people, over 950 of them accommodated elsewhere, whilst the rest remain close to the coast, joined by scores of new arrivals every week, amounting to an exile population of around 2000 along the Channel coast from Flushing to Bilbao.
These people need food, good counsel and clothes, which are accepted, sorted and distributed by several Calais warehouses, which also supply needs further afield.
Further information from Ben Bano on 07887 651117 or Phil Kerton on 01474 873802. Find the latest news on our website at www.seekingsanctuary.weebly.com
If your organisation would would like to help, the "want list" from most enterprises can be found at the end of this Section (below).
If it is difficult for you to get items to collection points, you may find items available at bargain prices in on-line clearance sales and auctions - and these can usually be delivered to us, rather than to your home. (Postal address available upon request.)
Please make an effort to sort and separate donated goods into boxes or durable sacks and label each of them with the type of item enclosed (e.g., jeans, trainers ...) and size: this aids their speedy and accurate distribution in Calais and reduces the demands upon precious volunteer time for sorting in Calais. We can help you to get goods taken to a Calais warehouse operated by an established local agency whence there are regular distributions to the migrants. Please check that there is sufficient transport and warehouse capacity before starting your collection. There are also very serious issues to consider if you are thinking of delivering delivering direct to the 'jungle' - please contact us for further advice.
We have very limited UK storage space for ourselves. Please check with us before planning any further collections so that we can advise how best to get goods to Calais.
Please note that we are rarely able to collect individual donations of items ourselves, but these can almost always be brought to a collection point somewhere in the UK - details of how to locate your nearest project upon request.
'A change of attitude towards migrants and refugees is needed on the part of everyone, moving away from attitudes of defensiveness and fear, indifference and marginalization – all typical of a throwaway culture – towards attitudes based on a culture of encounter' (Pope Francis). - Find out more about how to help on the "News & Comment" page.
- You can read our latest news updates and use the "Contact" tab to subscribe to email alerts.
'Pope Francis: ‘Each migrant has a name, a face, and a story'
'Each human life is precious - and as many parts of the world fall into chaos we must redouble our efforts to ensure that the needs and rights of vulnerable human beings from war torn countries who need sanctuary are valued and respected. Our partners in Calais much appreciate the concern evident from our side of the Channel.'
Ben Bano, 'Seeking Sanctuary'
'We must all learn to live together like brothers; otherwise we will die together like idiots' (sign outside the home of Adam, a resident in the 'jungle')
You can find comments from visitors to this site here.
(Those wishing to pray for the migrants and their plight will find resources here.)- These are tragedies on an enormous scale and a stark reminder that more lives could be lost if those seeking safety are left at the mercy of the sea. Saving lives should be our top priority. Europe cannot afford to do too little too late," (UNHCR).
Food is in short supply. There is a need both for items to use when cooking many hundreds of daily meals and for items to go into packs for a week or a day's supply for a family to cook for themselves. You can find out currents needs for both food, bedding and clothing at the addresses below.
DUNKIRK WOMEN'S CENTRE
- CURRENT NEEDS
- https://docs.google.com/document/d/1hBPSAv_Nvohm3RtvRZ3_2KNOQNWItJ5PwJLXCMi9WIQ/edit
- AMAZON WISH LIST
- https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/registry/wishlist/3J9EBGRJ0XKTR/ref=nav_wishlist_lists_1
REFUGEE COMMUNITY KITCHEN (CALAIS)
HELP REFUGEES / AUBERGE DES MIGRANTS WAREHOUSE
- CURRENT NEEDS
- https://helprefugees.org/calais/needs-list/
- LEISURE FAYRE (DISCOUNTED) WISH LIST – WITH FREE DELIVERY TO CALAIS
- https://www.leisurefayre.com/section.php/86100/1/help_refugees
- AMAZON WISH LIST
- https://www.amazon.co.uk/hz/wishlist/ls/3JVHIOFFUZCTM
- UK DROP-OFF POINTS
- https://helprefugees.org/donate-goods/
CARE4CALAIS WAREHOUSE
- CURRENT NEEDS
- https://care4calais.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Priority-Items-110918.pdf
- UK DROP_OFF POINTS
- https://care4calais.org/thedropoffmap/
Please note the items that are NOT needed -- and the strongly preferred sorting and labelling methods.