When Louisa Bello saw pictures of a migrant camp in Calais, she was so moved by the plight of refugees that she knew she had to do something to help.
Bello described how she and her friends were “incensed” by the situation and were “inspired by other volunteers” to get involved.
“With the dire situation, and the closer to winter we were getting, I just knew we had to get involved,” she told Hackney Post.
The 38-year-old English teacher issued an appeal on social media asking for clothes, food and other essentials.
“The response was absolutely overwhelming. We got offers and donations from people saying: ‘we didn’t know what to do – thank you for giving us a way to help.’”
The Wimbledon School of English, where Bello used to work, let her store donations sent from all over the world.
Bello enlisted two friends, Tamsin Isaacs and and Sophie van Winden, and together the friends drove a van full of clothes and supplies to the Calais Jungle last weekend.
“You realise you are literally in a shanty town on the border of France. There are people in front and behind you who have come to buy alcohol,” she said.
Bello said that reports of violence and intimidation towards Europeans by those in the camp were unfounded. “We received the warmest of welcomes. There are people there who are so happy they haven’t been forgotten.”
Bello described the camp, which is currently home to 3,000 people, as “desperate”.
“We’re there with our big parka jackets and thermal underwear and then you see someone standing in front of you with flip flops in November, and there’s mud up to their ankles,” she said.
“There are some tents which are so old and tattered you can’t believe anyone would be able to live in them,” Isaacs added.
“We found that people had donated jackets and coats but the refugees living there lacked simple things like underwear and socks. A lot of them were asking for pyjamas because they don’t have anything to sleep in,” she said.
But despite the desperation many migrants face, the three friends also discovered that the Jungle’s 3,000 inhabitants – mainly from Afghanistan, Syria, Sudan, Eritrea and Ethiopia – had established a society.
“There was a church and a shop, people ran businesses and there was even somewhere to play table-tennis and charge your phone,” Bello said.
Isaacs said that the trip had made such an impact on her that she plans to return next weekend. “I think I knew on some level before I went that I would be committed to it. I work in retail and this is the busiest time of year for me, but I don’t feel like I have a choice.”
Bello issued an appeal for more people to volunteer to help those who are still in need within the Jungle camp. “If you can drive or just want to donate, we need your help and I’d urge to get in touch on Facebook,” she said.
Bello continued: “More people need to go out there. It’s very easy at this time of year to forget that there are thousands of people there separated from their families and their countries, so it’s important that we all do what we can.”
Photo by Louisa Bello
