Hello everyone :)

I am raising funds for Roots , a grassroots NGO operating in Dunkerque, Northern France, that work with people on the move trying to cross the English Channel. I have volunteered with them for 3 months last winter and came back for two weeks in September.

The situation at the French coast is disturbing. While waiting to cross the English Channel, people are forced to sleep outside in the field and forest areas near the coast. There is no real infrastructure provided for those sleeping rough. Since spring 2024 the state provides two water points. Roots has expanded this service to six water points in total and 11 IBC cold water showers. This provides a place for drinking water, washing themselves, their clothes, their food - oftentimes, all of these things are taking place simoultaniously.

This is just the bare minimum for people on the move to survive their wait to cross the Channel, which can take a couple days or even a couple months.

To enable people to survive this time in a dignified manner, Roots also provides basic hygiene products like toothbrushes, toothpaste, razors, tissues, feminine hygiene products and nappies. The stock is donation based, which means products that do not get donated need to be bought, which is only possible if the funds are available. If that is not the case, there is no easy way for people to access them.

Last week we completely ran out of razors, bodywash and size 6 nappies. This means that there was no distribution of razors for multiple days and parents had to use wrong size nappies for their babies. These products are elemental and needed to be stocked up. The cost of razors, wet wipes and nappies are about 400€ every month. With the final goal of 550€ we could cover the costs for all hygiene products for an entire month!

Ongoing costs for hygiene products are hard to carry and often mean we can not provide them for several days. Even if the expenses can be paid, it means cutting down on costs elsewhere and it´s keeping the organization from investing in long term goals, like buying a new van, that would help the NGO run smoother and expanding it.

So, lovely people, if you have anything extra in your pocket, we would appreciate it very much. Your donation, as small as it may be, can make a big diffenrence for people living in dire circumstances.

You can also help by collecting material donations or sharing our mission!

Thank you for reading this far, i hope you have wonderful day!

Roxy