Cycling, without a route I often get lost, but I often find places I didn’t know existed. I have always made it home, in the end, somehow. Life, my life, is like cycling without a route. Recently I keep finding myself in incredible places i didn’t know existed. It means I am going to be later than planned getting to where I thought I’d be next, but that’s ok, I will get there, somehow, probably.
In other words; this summer I stumbled into the TCR, a result of which I quit my job with the view to travel the world by bike, acting on a list of mantras, goals, ambitions, dreams and ideas created on my bike. I have made it as far as Calais, France. I am going to be here a bit longer than planned. I will continue on my cyclo-adventure by bike, but I want to help here for a bit first.
Help Refugees
Part of my time out/world tour was to spend some time helping others. I have spent the last month with Help Refugees and The Refugee Community Kitchen in Calais, close to the site of the recently closed, Jungle Refugee Camp.
I thought that I would probably be leaving on the 9th of December, returning to the UK for a month to finalize preparations and say some farewells in advance of my flight to Hong Kong on Jan 6th, to begin my round the world bike trip.
However, I have found somewhere that I didn’t know existed. Somewhere that I think can help, I think i am helping. I have been presented with an opportunity that i don’t want to cycle away from, not yet anyway.
Following the closure of the Jungle Camp, the collective of organisations under the Help Refugees/ L’Auberge umbrella will be staying here. Building on the incredible work done in and supporting the refugee community here in Calais this grass-roots charity continues to provide support to refugees here in France. It also provides humanitarian aid further afield, with containers of aid being prepared and sent to Greece, Syria and Lebanon in coming days and weeks.
I am proud to have taken on the role of Logistics Manager for Help Refugees, so Snowy and I will be staying in Calais for a while.
I would love your help in this, be it awareness of the cause, fundraising (eg for containers), helping in our warehouse, donating pre-loved items, setting up new industry relationships, contacts of organisations/people who we should help or could help us, providing food, fixing bikes, anything else.
Thanks for your support.
Girl Riding Bike and Other Things 