In Northern France, vulnerable people fleeing conflict and persecution are constantly being denied their basic rights. This was the case in 2016 and it still continues today.

Every day grassroots NGO Collective Aid meets displaced people who have taken desperate journeys to get this far. They come from war-torn places such as Syria, Afghanistan, South Sudan and Eritrea. These people are on a journey of the unknown because they feel no safety and have no future in their home countries.

Whilst in France, they have zero access to dignified and appropriate accommodation, which results in most people sleeping rough in informal jungles (camps made out of tents and tarpaulins) scattered around Calais.

Stand in solidarity with the people in Calais. Share this message, and if you can, donate on this page. Tell your friends, make a stand. Lets turn discontent into action.

On Sunday 23rd June, I am taking part of a 65km walk, from Coquelles (west of Calais) to Belgium, to raise funds for Collective Aid, where I've been working for more than a year.

The walk will be divided in five legs, on one single day :

4h-7h Coquelles - Marck (12Kms)

7h:30-10h30 Marck - Gravelines (14kms)

11h-14h Gravelines - Grande-Synthe (13kms)

14h30-17h30 Grande-Synthe - Leffrinckoucke (10kms)

18h-21h Leffrinckoucke - La Panne (13kms)

We will walk 65kms, representing the length of the fences at the french-UK border. With this initiative, in addition to raising funds, we wish to raise awareness on the dramatic situation of people on the move at the border, and also inform on the activities of our association.

Collective Aid has a WASH Centre in the city centre of Calais, where they hosted 2138 visitors in 2023, and did 1364 loads of laundry. In addition to the possibility of washing their clothes, the WASH offers visitors a resting space, where they can enjoy a hot beverage, charge their phones, access books and games, et receive hygiene products. Collective Aid also collaborates with other organizations who offer various activities such as information workshops on asylum in the UK, activity sessions for teenagers, or first-aid.

In March of this year, the city of Calais decided to close the WASH. Collective Aid has taken legal action to reverse this decision, and is now awaiting the results.

Since then, however, Collective Aid has not stopped working. It now offers a mobile service, allowing people to keep accessing laundry services, without entering the center. They also continue to distribute tents from Monday to Friday, in various places in Calais, to people who have just arrived, or people whose tent has been seized by the police during an eviction. In 2023, this organization distributed 2760 tents.

I am taking part in this Walk to support Collective Aid financially. My objective is to raise at least 250€. For this, I will walk at least one of the legs of the Walk (10kms). But :

- if I raise at least 100€, I will walk the first leg, of 12kms, between 4am and 7am.

- if I raise at least 250€, I will walk two legs (at least 22kms)

- if I raise more than 500€, I will walk three legs (at least 35kms)

To support me, you can make a donation directly on this page. Don't hesitate to share it and talk to other people about it, you can also share the link of my page on your social media, and follow and share Collective Aid activities.

Thank you!