L’Auberge des Migrants supports displaced people in Northern France along the English Channel. It provides emergency material aid and promotes the dignity of migrants and refugees in the region by providing food and material assistance, legal and administrative support, and advocacy. The organization supports its activities with a combination of volunteer help on the ground, partnerships with other NGOs, donations, and sales of merchandise. Accepting various forms of contributions, it provides opportunities for its supporters to donate money, purchase a book of testimonies from volunteers who worked in migrant encampments, and contribute clothes, tents, sheets, and other material donations listed on the website and on an Amazon wishlist. L’Auberge des Migrants also finances its operations through partnerships with organizations that redirect revenue from online user activity to NGOs. The first, Lilo, is a search engine that converts the money generated from online advertisements to donations for NGOs. The second, HA Solidaire, is a digital platform where users can select NGOs to receive cashback from online purchases.
Theory of Change
Leveraging partnerships and alternative resources to mobilize local community can increase solidarity and social unity in promoting dignity of migrants and refugees in the region.
Activities
L’Auberge des Migrants conducts humanitarian relief efforts, legal support, and public advocacy. Operating out of a warehouse in the region, the organization distributes food and non-food items on a daily basis, including hot meals, food parcels, tents, and blankets. Its Project Woodyard initiative distributes wood to more than 1,000 people living on the streets and informal encampments in Calais who use it for heating and cooking during winter months. Through its Human Rights Observers (HRO) project, the organization monitors and reports on the treatment of displaced people, particularly during expulsions and operations carried out by the police. L’Auberge des Migrants also serves as an umbrella organization to help manage several partner associations and projects. It offers use of its warehouse to assist with the distribution of goods and services and provides financial and administrative support to partners when needed. It also collaborates with partners to litigate for improved living conditions of migrants in the region and pressure authorities to respect their rights.
Results
L’Auberge des Migrants has provided consistent support to displaced people in Northern France since it was founded in 2008. As of 2022, it has grown to include eight partner organizations and dozens of volunteers in the region. Since 2016, the Woodyard project has distributed up to seven tons of wood per week. L’Auberge des Migrants is frequently referenced in French media for its work with migrants and has collaborated with organizations like Human Rights Watch to report on police violence, humanitarian relief efforts, and migrant encampments in Northern France.
