A non-profit grassroots organisation from the UK aiming to provide a mobile launderette for residents of the Calais ‘Jungle’ refugee camp by fitting two washing machines and a tumble dryer in a van, run by a generator and using water either from the supply in camp or from an internal water tank. And we know how to drive! And what can you do with impeccable laundry skills and a driving licence? WAS
H STUFF IN SOMETHING YOU DRIVE! It's hard enough for the refugees living in Calais to get a shower, let alone access to laundry facilities. We plan to provide a service to wash underwear, t-shirts and trousers in the upcoming hot months. Many residents of the camp have lost their homes, their families and some feel that they are struggling to hold onto their dignity. Not only are clean clothes and underwear a basic human requirement, our service will also greatly reduce the wastage of donated clothes. In present conditions the only option is to throw away dirty items and queue to be distributed another one of the same thing, then repeat the process a week later. Having frequently volunteered with different organisations throughout the camp and made strong bonds with residents since the start of 2016, we have noticed the increasing desperate need for a launderette in the Jungle and the success of the laundry service in the new Dunkirk camp. We have previously worked in a busy launderette and are skilled at relevant organisational methods and experienced in using linen bags and efficient labelling systems allowing us to wash multiple people’s clothes at once and keep their belongings together (it's not that hard but don't tell anyone). Wild Washerwomen will not only be somewhere to revive dirty clothing but also a friendly place of relaxation and conversation. We also have Cambridge Certificates in English Language Teaching to Adults and will provide informal classes to anyone who is interested to prepare them for their possible asylum in the UK (as well as French conversation classes for those who plan to stay in France) whilst waiting for their laundry, and weather permitting we will have deckchairs set out around the van and a constant supply of chai tea and those biscuits that have sugar on them with coconut tones carved fairly aggressively with the word 'NICE'. We will fundraise locally and online to buy/acquire two environmentally friendly water-efficient 10kg washing machines, an 8kg tumble dryer, a dual voltage petrol generator and petrol coming to an initial approximate total of £2000. We will contact vehicle donation organisations with our proposal to request the usage of a van. Then we will head to the Jungle at the start of August for 1 - 2 months to test the operation of our pilot van and planned procedures to run the charity and distribute laundry access fairly.
