Latymer Upper Students Support Refugees in Calais

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With fundraising and working trips to help out at charity's warehouses

(L-r) Latymer Upper School’s Charities Co-ordinator and Chiswick residents, Toby Brisley, Christian Jouhar and Luke Kerton-Johnson, pictured with Clare Moseley – founder of Care4Calais

The relationship with Care4Calais began last summer, with 15 students and two members of staff becoming involved, with a three day working trip.

Since then, these trips have taken place every half term and end of term break, and 90 pupils have taken part in four working trips to work in the warehouse in Calais, sorting and distributing clothing and food to refugees. The last group out returned last month and the next group will go during the Easter Holidays.

During the trips, pupils work in the warehouse during mornings, helping with anything from cleaning and sorting a haircutting station to organising donated shoes and clothes into the correct sizes.

In the afternoon they are split into groups and work on distributing clothes and food. For example one group may go to Verrotier and one to Dunkirk, then on Saturday the groups are switched around, and on Sunday one group will go to the other parts of the area where refugees are in need of the donations.

At these locations, pupils distribute the items they have prepped in the morning and talk, or play football, cricket or volleyball with some of the refugees.

The school asks students to raise £100 each if they are coming on the trip. However many have far exceeded this target and with Gift Aid, they have currently raised around £10,000 for Care4Calais. Other fundraising activities have included visits to the London Migration Film Festival and a Migrateful cookery class.

As part of their Service Learning, Lower Sixth students volunteer for various community projects which include other work with refugees, including helping the West London Welcome centre for refugees, teaching ESOL to refugee students at West London College and working with Shepherd’s Bush Families Project which includes refugee families.

Latymerians also wrote Hannah and Halil– a book on refugee families produced for young children. You can read more and buy the book on Amazon.

April 11, 2019