Kind students’ refugee mission
TV coverage inspired pals to travel to Europe camps to give podiatric care
Two charitable Stirling students have provided medical care for migrants at refugee camps in Europe.
Podiatry students, Danielle Knox (25) and Christine McSweeney (43), from Riverside in Stirling made several trips to Calais to provide much needed healthcare support for migrants in refugee camps including ‘The Jungle’.
The students who are studying at Queen Margaret University (QMU) volunteered to provide specialist foot care for migrants who travelled thousands of miles.
They returned months later to assist refugees after ‘The Jungle’ camp had been dispersed with smaller camps forming all over Calais.
Christine said: “When watching the crisis on TV we could see that there was a human trail of people who had walked thousands of miles across many countries. So, when we saw the promotion asking for volunteers on the Foot Care project, it was obvious that we could offer our help.
“The first trip was a real eye opener. People were living in really awful conditions. It was freezing, wet and muddy and many people had nothing more substantial than flip flops on their feet. There was only cold running water and very limited sanitation.
“Because of the conditions, people were presenting with trench foot and fungal infections. Measles was rife and we suspected that some people had rickets. There were countless cases of people with broken bones - many claiming that their injuries were as a result of being beaten by police. Medical supplies were incredibly scarce and people were grateful for a few paracetamol.”
Danielle added: “We were slightly apprehensive about going to the camp but people could not have been nicer. All of the immigrants were incredibly grateful for the support that they were receiving.
“It was a myth that there are mainly healthy young men at ‘The Jungle’. There are actually hundreds of children, many without any parents, and plenty of women there too. The aid workers were doing a really incredible job but the situation was still brutal. People were not starving but they were definitely hungry.
“Bringing some attention and care to people in need was gratefully received and it was a great way for us to put into practice everything that we had learned on our podiatry degree. We had the chance to help people with wounds and musculoskeletal problems. Obviously we were limited as to how we could effectively deal with broken bones as they were literally no medical supplies other than what we could carry. We were operating out of an old caravan with extremely basic facilities.”
The duo travelled to France as part of the Foot Project.
They raised enough money for their own flights and accommodation, but they were also keen to source specialist podiatry supplies.
Following the demolition of the Calais jungle the team decided to try one project in Greece. After much fund raising, and with the addition of another QMU student, Andrew Gilmour, to the team, they headed to Greece, basing themselves in Ioannina and travelled out to camps at Faneromeni, Filippiada, Konitsa, Katsikas and Doliana.
It was a myth that there are mainly healthy young men at ‘The Jungle’. There are hundreds of children, many without any parents, and plenty of women too