Interview: Volunteer and Refugee Campaigner Alice Dutton
Laila Page
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On Friday 5th February, former and much loved student, Alice Dutton, visited Herts and Essex. She hosted the assembly and told students of her inspirational and emotive experience when going to investigate the horrors of the Calais Refugee Camps. Alice decided to volunteer at a non-profit small charity, Ashram Kitchen, which feeds 600 people 2 meals a day.
The charity video shown in assembly outlined some of the wonderful work that this kitchen and volunteers like Alice Dutton have achieved in order to improve the refugees’ stay at Calais. The video continued to show students how something as simple as food and toys affect these people’s stay in the camp and it certainly humanized the situation, making us aware of how dire the refugee crises is. The attempts to raise awareness, by Alice and Facebook groups such as the Bishop’s Stortford and Stansted Mountfitchet Refugee Support Network, highlight the strong sense of care our local area has. Moreover, Alice mentioned that Herts and Essex seemed the ideal choice of place to visit and raise awareness based on her knowledge of the school’s past efforts to help those in need. It was also clear after the assembly that Alice’s visit had inspired students to want to help in her future visit in March. Furthermore, with our school’s strong history of helping others it has begun a wave of charitable care along our corridors. This special interview gives us a chance to have a deeper look behind the assembly and gave me the opportunity to ask questions about how Alice felt about her volunteer work. It allows you, the students, to get to know more about Alice’s trip than what was seen in the limited time of the assembly. |
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