The sun shone bright as an unusually sunny day greeted the Greenlight volunteer team. 46 work-ready volunteers stepped off the bus and into a refugee camp near Calais, France. The team immediately began clearing piles of rubbish scattered throughout the camp, at times even sinking knee-deep into rubbish piles to get at the heart of the mess.

Hosting around 4,000 people, sanitary living conditions are difficult to maintain with the constant stream of refugees trickling into the camp. The goal of the day was to clear as much rubbish as possible and address any other sanitary concerns the camp directors encountered. At one point, the team paused to help pour sand over drainage from overflowing toilets, preventing contamination in one of the camp’s water sources.

Soon a few of the refugees even joined in to help the team clean throughout the day. By the end of the day the team left the camp visibly cleaner, new friendships made and the hope that in the future more can be done in the camp.

The Refugee Response has seen an incredible outpouring of generosity from those who seek to have a part in changing life for the better and extending a welcoming hand to some of the world’s most desperate people. Over 15,000 items have been donated to help create welcome boxes to families coming into the UK. More boxes are being assembled to help those in the refugee camp have access to clothes, food and toiletry items.

As the Church, the body of Jesus Christ, we must respond to the needs of these people. We are committed, to stay involved and make a difference for those who are most vulnerable.

For more information on how you could get involved with our Refugee Response, visit hillsong.com/refugeeresponse

If you think you would be interested in volunteering with our Greenlight Team, feel free to get in touch by clicking the button below.