We are all hummingbirds - Testimonials

Hi my name is Adam and this is how I met the Hummingbird Project!

On a foggy cold and hopeless morning I was walking around the Calais camp and I was unwell with cold/flu. I was walking by, and I noticed a new building and there was a queue outside it and out of interest I went to check and see what's in there. It turned out to be a group of volunteers from Brighton who had brought medicine , a medical team of qualified nurses and it wasn't only a clinic but they had lots of warm clothes- gloves and hats and most importantly there were hot drinks and some art materials.

Some of the volunteers were sharing stories and legal support to help people understand their legal rights and legal awareness for the police brutality in Calais. So for me it was interesting because for a minute that helped to pause my mind from that boring morning and stressful night so therefore it was a great experience that I had. But like usual I went back to the Calais reality again. I remember in those days I had severe stress and felt hopeless to the limit.

The next day, I needed to do something to refresh my mood and escape from the harsh reality and endless fear. With no family, no money, no documents, nothing to lean on just complete desperation. So, I decided to go back and just have a chat, because sometimes you reach that level of loneliness and you are just about to give up and start to believe that there are no angels, that life is fake and the whole world is against you.

And yet there is someone out there able to listen you, to tell you that you are not alone and show that you are wrong and tell you we are all here to help you. It's almost a true figure and life saver and the angels are real. That's how I felt.

I think I would never be who I am today without the support that I had from all the volunteers. I mean every one of them I have special regards and gratitude for. I am saying that because of them I have learnt how to speak and write better. I had the pleasure to access so many programs that qualified me for the good job that I have today.

Now I am not working because of the lockdown but what I mean is I have the career that I want to pursue for the rest of my life. Also, I want to give thanks for the housing support that I had received while I was still raw.

I think back to Calais again and I feel that I am lucky because in the long future, this story it would age and test better and I am very very honoured to be part of it.

I will never forget that warm ginger tea remedy that I had at the medical clinic no matter what I say words is not enough to express my thanks to the Hummingbird project for they did in Calais.