ABOUT
STAFF
FUTURE
2015
2016 - 01
2016 - 03
2016 - 10
2016 - 12
2017 - 01
2017 - 02
2017 - 03
2017 - 04
Buildings
Wooden Shelter ( 3D )
Public Space
Religion
Services
Common Space
Children's Playground ( 3D )
Children's Center ( 3D )
Refugee Women Center ( 3D )
Community Kitchen Centre
The Refugee Women's Centre provides comprehensive support to migrant women and families living in informal outdoor settlements in Calais and Dunkirk and accommodation centres in the surrounding areas.
In cities and towns such as Calais and Grande-Santé, which lie directly on the French-British border, displaced persons from countries as diverse as Iraq, Sudan and Eritrea have been attempting to cross the English Channel to seek asylum in the United Kingdom. The displaced persons live in camps in the north of France in appalling conditions, and their fundamental human rights are violated daily.
The general situation and the level of services have fluctuated over the years, but the fundamental need for essential support has remained the same. The situation in northern France has deteriorated over the years. Since its establishment in 2015, the Centre for Refugee Women has been active on the ground, supporting an average of 1,000 women annually.
The Women's Centre is open daily from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and offers a variety of services and assistance to women. Its volunteers ensure that food, tea and coffee are always available, and it also offers French and English language classes, children's activities, massages, hair and make-up services and facials.
Women's centres before they burned down
In January 2017, some male refugees set fire to the women's centre. The men were angry that the women had somewhere to go while the men were not allowed to enter the place. But because the women's centre is seen as an important resource for women, volunteers quickly rebuilt it through crowdfunding. Also at the same time men had access to the free shop at the women's centre, which was open three days a week and provided basic necessities, which also helped to ease tensions.