Islanders to spend Christmas helping refugees

Wednesday 11 November 2020

An islander has shared why he'll be spending Christmas away from home, setting off to France to give goods to the refugees who need them most.

Alcindo Pinto is currently appealing to islanders to donate supplies and fundraise for his trip with Joe Fry, which will see them working at French refugee centres over the festive period.

Though Joe has worked with the Jersey Calais Refugee Aid Group in the past, Alcindo explained that this will be his first time doing such work.

“Originally Joe asked me if I’d give her a lift over with some stuff to Paris and go back, then she told me what she was doing. I said, 'I’m not going back, I’ll stay!' We just wanted to do something that wasn’t a Jersey Christmas and would help people.”

He added: “The refugees have had such a hard time, and with all the covid stuff on top of that, it must have been a nightmare."

Pictured: Alcindo and Joe will be collecting outside Curves Fitness Centre near Grand Marche on 28 November.

Alcindo and Joe’s journey will see them start by taking items to the Calais Refugee Centre, which works as a warehouse to hold supplies for refugees following the destruction of Calais’ Refugee Camp.

As well as working at the centre, they will be going to a refugee camp in Dunkirk to offer their services, before going to Paris to continue giving out the goods gathered. 

So far, they have managed to raise £3,155 for their fundraising efforts through their GoFundMe page, making £2,000 of that within two days. Talking about the response, he said there had “not been one negative comment - everybody’s all for it, everybody’s engaged really nicely.”

As well as the donations for the charity, supplies are what Alcindo and Joe will be looking for when they hold their ‘Drive By Drop Off, Donate’ event, which will be held at Curves Fitness Centre on Oxford Road on 28 November. 

Pictured: Alcindo and Joe have a specific list of items for islanders to donate. 

The items Alcindo and Joe will be looking for are miscellaneous, ranging from food to clothing. A specific list has been uploaded to the group’s Facebook page, 'Compassion for refugees this Christmas', which outlines their most needed items. Though nappies are needed, they will not be taking women and children’s clothes as there is already a surplus at the centre.

“What we’re really looking for and low on is unlocked smartphones and power banks to keep in contact,” Alcindo explained. “That’s quite important, as [the refugees] are all separated and it’s really useful for them to connect like that.” 

Once they have what they need, they will be doing excess packing, before storing the items in a barn the National Trust have lent until the pair go away. Then on the 18 December, armed with a hired van and the goods they’ve gathered, Alcindo and Joe’s journey will begin. 

When asked what he hopes people will take from seeing his and Joe’s efforts, Alcindo summed up: “I want them just to help other people, give what they can give, and enjoy the giving - it feels so much better to give."