So, we have completed our first trip to Calais and it couldn't have gone more smoothly . . . well, apart from having no idea how the headlight adaptors worked but we got that sorted in the end!

We dropped off the physical donations with George at Association Salam who have a storage space at the rear of the camp, inside the Jules Ferry Centre. This is where hot meals are distributed, where people can access showers and basic washing facilities and the location of the women and children's centre.

The donations are sorted into rough categories, such as men's clothes, tents, bedding etc and piled up as high as possible before volunteers sort them further before distribution via a ticketing system. This allows residents of the camp to have some freedom to choose the clothes and things they would like rather than being given something chosen by someone else.

On the left of the picture above, just in front of the yellow door, you can see the pile of toiletries and sanitary products. On the right, closest to the camera, is the food and behind that is bedding, ground rolls and sleeping bags.

Once we'd unloaded, we were taken into 'the jungle' by Liz who had a truck we have all become obsessed with! The residents of the camp prefer not to have their photos taken so, whilst we did speak to people living in the camp, we do not have photos of them.

We drove through the main part of the camp and passed some of the more permanent structures people are making to live in. There are also some cafes selling chicken and chips and a couple of shops.

We saw the church and Jungle Books, which is the library. We spoke to Bill who is staying in the camp and offering English lessons and lessons on chaos theory!

Liz told us that litter is a big problem in the camp and they are always keen for volunteers to visit and help clean up.

Now that this visit is done, and we have a much clearer idea of what is needed, we will start planning our second trip which we hope will be in October 2015.

Thank you so much to everyone who donated money or physical items. We couldn't have done it without each and every one of you being awesome human beings and being willing to do something for our sisters and brothers in Calais.