In September 2015, Making Herstory began independently identifying issues facing women and child refugees living in the camps of Calais and Dunkirk in France.

Our Actions

From October 2015 to October 2016, we were able to transport urgent aid in the form of shelter, bedding, pre-packed backpacks, food packs, children’s goods, clothing, medicines etc., to vulnerable refugees forced to reside in the camps of Calais and Dunkirk, France.

Thanks to your ceaseless support of our works, we completed nine official emergency aid convoys, commencing as of 18th September 2015, and followed up on 27th September 2015; 30th October 2015; 12th December 2015; 12th March 2016; 28th May 2016; 26th June 2016, 2nd July 2016 and 8th October 2016.

Our especial thanks to Sofinee Harun and Jamal Ismail – the amazing team behind the creation of Kitchen In Calais, for permitting us the honour of working in their kitchens whenever the opportunity arose, and providing a safe harbour for all our team.

Taking our learning from these works, we were also able to begin lobbying the UK government to grant aid and shelter for more refugees than it had pledged to do so with the speed, efficiency and in the numbers so desperately needed.

Read our first Recommendations Paper, The Refugee Crisis – Proposed Motions & Actions HERE.

Works Today

Following the UK government’s retraction of the Dubs Amendment, and in order to allow Making Herstory’s limited resources to be re-invested back into all UK projects, the learnings and partnerships forged by our works are now now being carried forward by the OR’s Refugee Aid Team: an independent project being delivered by our founder, Onjali Raúf.

As part of her efforts in this field of human rights, Onjali’s first children’s book, The Boy at the Back of the Class, seeks to help raise awareness of the refugee crisis whilst also supporting her aid teams.

In the meantime, Making Herstory continues to pursue ways in which to aid refugee women and girls who have successfully entered the UK, and campaign for female refugees subjected to trafficking dangers to be permitted safe passage to the UK.