The Future of Collective Aid Operations in France

Since this essay was posted, we have continued to receive questions and enquiries, especially from individuals and groups who are interested in when we are planning to return to Calais. We have collated the questions we receive over time about the pausing of the Calais Project below, and responded to some issues that have been raised. We realise that many people, organisations and foundations are interested to know why we are not currently in Calais and if we will consider returning soon.

We are always pleased to continue to receive questions and requests inviting us to consider opening projects, and in order to express our gratitude for the positive engagement and continued interest in this topic, we are continually updating this page to keep those interested up to date.

Dear Friends and Supporters,

I am writing to share an important update regarding the Collective Aid France Programme. After much thoughtful deliberation and consultation with our board of trustees, partners, and team, we have made the difficult decision to close our Calais project and pause our operations in France. This transition will include handing over our current operations, including NFI distribution, to our trusted partners who will remain operating on the ground.

This decision has not been taken lightly and it reflects the challenges we have faced in maintaining consistent and sustainable funding and stock for our work in Calais over several years. As many of you know, our ability to provide uninterrupted support to displaced people depends on stable finances, a reliable income of stock, and constant support from partner organisations, all of which have become increasingly tricky to coordinate as the funding landscape has become more competitive. This is why, despite our best efforts, we have now concluded that we are at a point at which the needs of the people in Calais can now be better met by the wider network of established organisations we have worked alongside for years.

While this is a moment of sadness, it is also an opportunity to reflect on the many achievements of our Calais project over the years. Together, we have distributed essential items, provided critical support to those in need, and contributed to the collective efforts of a remarkable community of organisations. We have been so lucky to be part of such a strong community of solidarity and I will always be grateful for the commitment and solidarity of our supporters, volunteers, and partners that have been so fundamental to the successes of this project.

In the meantime, our work in Serbia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, and Greece continues, and I invite you to stay engaged through our Winter Fundraiser, where we will be sharing updates and stories from our continuing programmes. Your support will remain crucial as we continue to adapt to meet the evolving needs of people on the move where we continue to work.

I understand this news will come as a disappointment to many, and I am here to answer any questions you may have or to provide additional context. Transparency and dialogue are central to how we navigate these types of decisions, and I warmly invite you to reach out to me directly if you want to discuss more at director@collectiveaidngo.org.

We are so grateful for your understanding, compassion, and solidarity as we take this step forward. Together, all of us have built something extraordinary in Calais, and there is so much to celebrate as we look towards new opportunities.

With heartfelt gratitude,

 Noah Hatchwell 

Your Questions and Answers

We are updating this section over time as we continue to receive questions and requests, both to answer frequently raised topics and also outline some more context behind our decision and our current position on returning to Calais.

Why did Collective Aid pause operations in Calais and why have you not gone back?

After several years of sustained work in Calais, Collective Aid made the decision to close the project and pause operations in France following extensive internal review and consultation with trustees, partners, and local team members. This decision reflected what was, at the time, an increasingly difficult environment for securing long-term, reliable funding and stock for the Calais programme, alongside a humanitarian landscape that is already densely populated by experienced organisations with equally strong structural capacity to continue this work sustainably.

In humanitarian contexts like Calais, responsibility means recognising when the needs of people on the move can be better met by organisations that are better resourced to provide continuity over time. When this decision was made, it was because we firmly believed that point had been reached, and it remains our analysis.

Why did Collective Aid open a project in Greece while pausing operations in France?

This is a fair question, and it is important to be clear that it is because Collective Aid’s projects are funded, resourced, and governed independently of one another. There has never been a central pot of funding that can be redistributed between projects, meaning each programme exists only as long as it continues to meet the needs of people on the move effectively without overlapping with other organisations, and thereby continue to attract the resources to operate responsibly. The Greece operation was developed following direct requests from partners and local organisations to fill a gap and was able to secure the necessary support to proceed. Sustained funding for Calais in that time proved increasingly difficult to secure despite prolonged efforts, primarily due to reasons cited above.

Opening a project in Greece did not reduce capacity or attention in Calais. In fact, for more than six months, the majority of senior leadership time and board time was dedicated to attempting to secure long-term funding for the Calais programme. When this was ultimately unsuccessful, in the face of needs assessments of our partners and our local team, it was clear that continuing the project would compromise our standards of sustainability and delivery.

Did the pause leave a gap in services?

No. Over the months leading to our exit, Collective Aid worked closely with the four other partner organisations operating the same NFI services in the region to coordinate stock, align winter shelter provision, and ensure continuity of support for people on the move in Calais. This included facilitating continued support to joint initiatives to pool tent and NFI resources across organisations. We paused services with the confidence of partners and our local team members that services would continue without interruption and, in many cases, with greater long-term stability than we could guarantee under the funding constraints we were facing. It was the shared opinion among our team and our partners that stepping back at the point that we did was the responsible decision.

Why were other organisations equipped to continue this work when Collective Aid cannot?

Depopulating a context that is saturated with organisations enables the best structured and funded organisations to operate the most sustainable interventions. At the time, many of our partners in Calais that were providing similar services were simply operating at a larger scale, with broader funding bases, longer-standing institutional support, and infrastructure that allowed them to absorb fluctuations in funding more effectively. Collective Aid’s model is effective in the places we work because we are lean and responsive: which allows us to move quickly and with decisive impact. However it is not suited for all humanitarian contexts and in the case of Calais were there is wide overlap across many organisations and simultaneously a high degree of funding uncertainty, other organisations were simply better equipped to operate the services that we were running. Recognising when others are better placed to lead and when to exit is a core component of serious humanitarian practice.

Additionally, to ensure organisations we handed over to were best equipped, remaining stock was transferred in order to support ongoing winter provision. This handover was coordinated carefully by our local team.

Will Collective Aid return to Calais or resume operations in France in the foreseeable future?

Collective Aid does not measure the success of our work by its permanence, but by responsibility and standards. We step forward when needed, we operate where we can make a decisive difference and we step aside when local civil society is equipped to continue.

We are open to consider returning to Calais and resuming our operations in France, but we need a clearly evidenced gap in provision where our specific approach would add distinct value and where intervention would not duplicate or overlap heavily with the work of existing local organisations.

In humanitarian environments that are dense and saturated, responsible action is not defined by the presence alone, but by the capacity for groups to contribute in ways that are meaningful, necessary and standards driven. At present, the needs in Calais are being met by a wide network of experienced organisations, a many of which have the scale and resources to operate sustainably and are locally led.

Should conditions change, for example, if new needs emerge, access is restricted for existing actors, or the operating landscape shifts significantly, we would assess the situation carefully in dialogue with local teams before taking any decision and we would seek to secure funding prior to arrival.

Until then, our focus remains on the contexts where we can operate projects that are clearly and specifically warranted, resourced, and additive to local civil society.