We all know that the current situation in Calais is dire, and that about 10,000 men, women and children, including 1,000 unaccompanied minors, are in urgent need of food, dry shelter and warm clothing. In those circumstances, why fundraise for games?
Firstly, because there are many excellent charities already fundraising to provide those essentials items. And secondly, because people do not live by bread alone!
The games we intend to buy will serve a dual purpose: during the day, they’ll be used in the camp's schools for children and workshops for adults, in order to develop their English and French language skills, and in the evening, they’ll be used in the camp's communal areas, to alleviate boredom and bolster community spirit.
For the teaching programmes, we’re planning to buy games that develop storytelling and imagination, such as Dixit or Rory’s cubes, and games that entail a lot of communication between players: co-operative games such as Pandemic or Forbidden Desert, and party games such as Codenames or Time’s Up.
If we raise enough money, we also intend to buy some family games for parents and children to play together, as well as some modern and traditional games for socializing and relaxing between adults or teenagers, such as mancala, chess, dominoes, Carcassonne, Catan or Ticket to Ride.
Of course, donations in kind, including second-hand games, will be much appreciated, provided the games are appropriate (see above description) and in good condition. Please send them directly to the Care4Calais charity, who will distribute the games as needed. And please, no war games and no Monopolys!
The address for sending your games: Care4Calais c/o Georgie Klein, 9003 rue des Sycomores, 62231 ZI Blériot Plage, France.
Let’s help make the refugee camp in Calais a bit more liveable, one game at a time!