Laura & Sid were the driving force. Without them the construction of simple shelters wouldn't have happened. As they said, you can teach a chimpanzee to build shelters .... I was that chimpanzee!!!
I met many truly fantastic & inspirational people whilst I was in Calais, such as the charming 19 yr old lad from Kabul who had been on the camp for 22 days. He was in his 2nd year studying law in Afghanistan when a family friend gave him the money to get to Europe, leaving his family behind. It took him 2 months to get to Calais, which involved one of those overcrowded boats going to Greece. The journey cost him $7,000 & now he has no more money. He worries about his family left behind in Kabul & they worry about him here. He's determined to get to England, despite one of his friends stopping off in Austria & the other in Germany. He's the sort of lad you couldn't help falling in love with, so polite, respectful & helpful with a fabulous & ever-present smile, despite having seen so much death & destruction in his young life in Kabul. I would love to have been able to take him to England myself so that he could continue his law studies. I wonder if England, if he ever gets there, will be for him the wonderful place he imagines. A truly delightful lad.
I spent my last morning on the camp with a couple of young English volunteers who were in a van distributing self-build kits (frames, pallets, plastic & insulation) in the Sudanese sector of the camp. These guys were fantastic having done the job for 2 wks. They took complete control of the situation to avoid mini riots but showed so much compassion & respect for the refugees, enjoying a great rapport & banter with them, & taking the time in a very busy day to listen to their stories & noting their desperation for a shelter. Unfortunately, they already had 150 people on the shelter waiting list in that sector alone! There really are some wonderful people up there that I feel so lucky to have met
"c"
Val says:This lady is very private person who does not want to show off.
Well done to her
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