Over the week before we left, arranged with ABC to link up with volunteers on ground to distribute. Various messages, information difficult to extract eg where do we go? - the car park. Which car park? the one near the sports shop. Which sports shop? emoticon. Please tell me which road the car park is on and the location of the car park. Car park outside Decathlon. Which road? etc etc
I looked up Decathlon Dunkirk on google maps and found where it was and over a few more messages arranged to meet volunteer there at 12. Arrived at 12 waited half an hour no one there. Messaged volunteer, she was in class, couldn't help, had passed it on to someone else, their phone wasn't answering first volunteer in class advised drive in to camp and look for Emmaus who would help. Huge reservations about driving in due to warnings on ABC website.
Drove into camp, Emmaus doing lunch distribution, absolutely charming lady volunteer but hardly any English advised wait until after lunch service then she would help. She did her best.
We'd taken 2 trestle tables and packed systematically but wished we'd packed the shoes at the front, everyone wanted shoes. Two helpful English speaking Syrians materialised and helped us by maintaining a reasonable queue like a fraught car boot sale, but nothing threatening or too chaotic.
No way of avoiding giving out to first in line and therefore not necessarily the most needy.
general feedback for others:
- Wish we'd taken a few bits for the kids, difficult apologising to them as no games or sweets or anything
- We were fine about self distributing, followed advice about what to take and how to pack
- No need to fear doing an independent trip, plenty of scaremongering goes on, ignore it
- Next time we'll concentrate on shoes, socks, sleeping bags and cooking oil - everyone wanted oil - plus a few kids games
- ABC say no to towels, duvets, pillows - is this because they have so many? We took a few towels and people wanted them, plus some cushions also taken and why are duvets not wanted? Is it the stocks? Maybe take anyway if you have nothing else to take up a bit of spare room in your vehicle. Useful for under sleeping bags.
- Stuff to clean the toilets badly needed, we took bleach and marigolds, brushes.
- Have a plan B and a plan C and if nothing else works just go in and do it yourselves
- Would be good if ABC can get the map up where to go and try to give a name and contact number of who to meet up with
- ABC advice on priorities excellent
- There were two of us, we managed fine, for the refugees not the fairest of distributions. Very happy to go again mid January.
Keep going everyone
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