A COUPLE who spent New Year volunteering at a refugee camp are now appealing for help to buy 500 pairs of boots.
Richard Smith and his partner travelled to Calais to help distribute aid at The Jungle, where thousands of refugees are living. The couple said that their experience moved them so much that now they want to offer more practical help and have launched an appeal to find £10,000 to fund the new boots.
Mr Smith, who is director of music at All Saints Church in Wiltshire Road, said that second hand shoes are not an option as it is difficult to check the quality of them all.
Wellies are also useless as they get stuck in the mud and, without socks, they’re also cold.
He said: “Good, solid boots are so desirable if you’re living under a tarpaulin on a cold, rain-soaked landfill site.
“Bad shoes are painful, cold, wet, sometimes dangerous, and they don’t last.
“I buy new shoes for my children without a second thought. In this small way, we want 500 people in the Calais Jungle to feel loved and cared for.”
In just over a week the appeal has raised £850 – it currently stands at just over £1,500. If they reach £10,000 by Sunday, February 14, they will be able to bulk buy the footwear.
Mr Smith added: “Buying a large consignment of men’s boots not only ensures good quality, it also makes distribution infinitely easier and it means we can take the types and sizes the camp actually needs.”
For more details visit www.bootswithoutborders.org.uk.
To go straight to the donation page, visit gogetfunding.com/boots-without-borders.
