New Stars Shine

Second to last day here, at one of the greatest places in the world. Every morning I am greeted by a sea of incredible people. I have been here such a short time, but the people here have shown me what I needed. They showed me there is a possibility to change this world. ' The world is fucked, but it doesn't mean we have to be' (Chanelle Manton, first time volunteer, lifetime of change) Last night got pretty emotional for my collegue and I. We hit that pivotical moment of realisation, that the work we do helps, and little by little, step by step, volunteer by volunteer, we can create a following of people that believe in change, believe in better, and together we can achieve so much. Without belief we are just another man in a bucket of millions, working, eating, dying. Organising the kitchen distribution. Today was another day of work, we organised shelves for quick access distribution, and reorganised the overflow warehouse ready for the shipment ...

Hello! Interesting karma.. Another day with another day of work, another day of helping. Volunteering has always been a huge passion of mine for years. It is something that I consider a great aspect in my life. This evening I had an opportunity to go and speak with some of the volunteers working at the warehouse, it was interesting to see others with the same determination as myself.  I was speaking to one of the 'experts' as we call it (volunteers who have been at the warehouse for over a week), and he spoke to me on issues that affected him, and why he came to volunteer. It is perceived to be that people chose to do this for a few reasons: A passionate volunteer 1) They have had a difficult past, and think this is the best way to remove the past they've had and to rectify the future. 2) They have had a very fortunate past, and this is how they are returning the favour. 3) They believe they can be the change, and are fed up of what is seen in the media...

Conspiracy theory: There was never a Jungle Alternative theory: We all live in a Jungle (Written on a port-a-loo, Calais Warehouse, anonymous) Day Two: Surreal Surroundings Twelve hours of sleep can do the world of good for an individual, a coffee can be the best pick-me-up.  Second day in and without a doubt another successful day. After spending a morning back in the sorting warehouse, we then got the opportunity to learn about the overflow. A strange realization overthrew us when we saw the piles of large clothing that isn't needed, shoved into crates awaiting to be taken. The warehouse prompted a question on where this will all go, to which this reply send a shudder down my spine; The overflow of donations. " So a while back, we had this big order for Syria,  we had a plan for the van to come and  collect tonnes of children, men and women's clothes..." "What happened?" "The place they were going...

All photos courtesy of Chanelle Manton photography Refugees. People like you and me,surviving in a world that has done them no justice.  There is no better start to the New Year than to give up your time to help those in need. And in today's media the crises is refugees. A whole area of the world is fighting on the lines on politics, humans being killed left right and centre. No wonder to yourselves why they ran, they left to survive. And over 8,000 refugees escaped to Calais. The Jungle, as it is more commonly known has closed, but this does never mean there isn't work to be done, there are people still waiting, waiting to begin their life, stuck in a purgatory of tents and donations. Just, sat in a limbo of life. My good friend and I ventured off on the 2nd of January 2017 at 6pm to Calais, leaving from Brighton. We fundraised £500.00 for this project, so utilised the funds by taking cheap transport, which took over twelve hours. From Brighton to London Victoria w...

"Earlier today the Women and Children's centre in the  Dunkirk camp was burnt down by the Kurdish mafia" " Last night 2 people froze to death in Serbia" "Thousands of children in Greece tonight  going to sleep in temperatures of minus 9" We are living in a genuine crises. People who only a few years ago had a warm bed, ripped from them in an anguish of political warfare. Today was an emotional and difficult day. We worked as hard as we could but still had this anger bubbling inside of us from the difficulties Dunkirk experienced this morning. It is unfathomable that this is happening in our day and age. We continue to help. As it was our last day we had the honour of teaching the new volunteers the way of the warehouse. I also sorted the overflow section to make it easier to stock. It was fantastic to get stuck in to all the work we could, and made today one of our most productive. It was however strange to note those...