First Aid Support Team - FAST

A huge thank you to all the runners of the 6° Backyard Ultra Hulshorst! 🧡

On 5 September, our team provided medical support during the race, and the participants donated €450 to FAST. That money goes straight to our work in Calais, where our volunteers provide first aid, wound care and hygiene supplies to people on the move six days a week.

Thank you to the organisers, the runners and everyone who came out to cheer. It was a great day, and we're really grateful for your support.

Want to support FAST too? Our (orange) running shirts are available now. https://www.f-a-s-t.eu/fast-merch/

Organising your own run, event or fundraiser for FAST? We'd love to help. Get in touch at [email protected].

We are hiring a Field Coordinator to lead our healthcare service for displaced people in Calais and Dunkirk for a minimum of 3 months.
Start Date: End of October 2026.

This is a voluntary position but a contribution of €600 a month towards living expenses is available.

The role involves:
-working first aid shifts, acting as a contact point for volunteers focusing on coordination, managing schedules and managing first aid supplies, liaising with other NGOs, running first aid training and running clinics.
-You will be supported by an experienced remote team of health professionals.
-Training and a handover will be provided.
-You must be a registered Nurse, Doctor or Paramedic to apply for this role.
-We welcome applicants of mixed experience and clinical backgrounds.
-You do not need to have previous humanitarian work experience.
-An understanding of the humanitarian crisis in Northern France is desirable but training will be provided.
-We can be somewhat flexible with dates so if this is something you are considering please message us.

Please contact us with any questions and share with any Health Professionals you think might be interested!
For more information and to apply, please email your CV to: [email protected]

The last few weeks have been busy for our team of volunteers.

As the weather starts to cool down and conditions become colder and wetter, we’re seeing the impact of this directly in our clinics.

Coughs and colds are on the rise.
Can you imagine feeling unwell and not having painkillers, a warm bed, or nutritious food to eat?

Wounds related to the cold weather are increasing, too. Burns from lighting fires to keep warm, moisture related wounds and trench foot.

Can you imagine walking for miles every day?
Wet shoes.
Wet socks.
A painful blister at the back of your heel can very quickly turn into something much bigger and more complicated.

The people we support are met with hostility every day.

Their basic human rights are ignored.

Every item and necessity needed to survive has a massive barrier placed in front of it.

Cold? But you have no shelter. Your coat is wet. You gave your blanket to a child.

Hungry? You missed the food distribution because you needed to charge your phone to check on your elderly mother.

Feeling unwell? Do you leave your tent in the rain to visit FAST, or do you try to rest and keep dry?

Every day, we see people with illness and injury. Not because humans sometimes get injured or become unwell, but because the conditions they are forced to survive in have directly caused them.

“This week due to yet another heatwave, many people on the move are suffering with headaches, dehydration and eye irritation from the dust.
We are using more and more supplies, such as electrolytes and eye wash, to meet these needs but this means some of our stock is now running low.
FAST relies on volunteers and donations to ensure the communities we support receive the first aid they need.
Our work continues no matter the weather.
Even a small donation can make a huge impact here on the ground.”
- Genevieve, Field Coordinator

Introducing our new Field Coordinator! Please join us in welcoming her.

“Hello! My name is Genevieve and I have just started my handover period before becoming the next Field Coordinator.
I am a newly qualified nurse and have been volunteering in Calais with FAST and Care4Calais for the last 3 years.
The situation has changed each time I have been back, as Field Co, I hope to continue providing access to healthcare and providing a little more dignity for the communities we support.
I can’t wait to start the role properly and meet all the incoming volunteers, I have already learnt so much from the current field co and I am excited to pass this on.”

Another Heatwave! 🥵🔥
Delivering our first aid clinics in Calais during yet more hot weather presents us with new challenges.
The heat, paired with poor shelter, limited water and food means that the people we support are at higher risk for dehydration, heat stroke and other heat related injuries.
Whilst we can hide from the worst of the sun, refugees and displaced people in Calais don’t have the luxury of using fans, a nice breezy aircon or even to rely on a guaranteed water supply.
Our volunteers continue to work in the 30 degree weather, offering our usual services as well as bringing extra drinking water and screening for heat related illnesses.
Can you help ensure our services can continue?
We rely entirely on the generous donations of our supporters.
Our summer appeal is live and we are taking donations via our website.
Please see the link in our bio!
Thank you 💙

Ever thought about being a volunteer with us?
FAST are a completely volunteer run organisation and thanks to our volunteers, we are able to offer our first aid and healthcare clinics 6 days a week.
Without volunteers on the ground, we can’t do this.
If you have ever wondered about joining us… This is YOUR sign 🩺👩‍⚕️🏥💙
Apply by filling in our form via the link in our bio or send us a message and we can tell you more!
Thank you!

A big thank you to Dr Andrew Hill, who has made a personal donation to FAST.

Andrew is a global health researcher at the University of Liverpool, working on access to essential medicines — making sure treatment actually reaches the people who need it. He heard about our work from Namwa, a final-year medical student he supervises, who volunteered with us in Calais earlier this year and told him about it when she got back.

The donation will be spent on the things we get through fastest: wound dressings and antiseptic, blister and foot care, skin creams, soap and wet wipes, and multivitamins. Unglamorous stuff, and it runs out constantly.

In this heat we're seeing a lot of dehydration on top of the wound infections and foot problems we treat all year round. People are living outside with almost no access to clean water or shade, and nowhere to rest properly.

We'd also like to take this opportunity to thank everyone else who supports this work — our monthly donors, everyone who chips in after seeing something on here, and all the people who fundraise for us. Every clinic day we run is paid for by all of you together.

If you're a healthcare professional and you've been thinking about coming out to Calais with us, get in touch — we're always looking for doctors, nurses, paramedics and first aiders. https://www.f-a-s-t.eu/application/

We received an amazing donation from forRefugees to stock up on medical supplies for our mobile clinic in Calais.

Wound care, bandages, antiseptics, hygiene products — the everyday essentials that keep us running six days a week.

Want to help us keep showing up? Our summer appeal is open.
https://www.f-a-s-t.eu/summer-appeal

A big thank you to forRefugees for making this happen!

We just received a donation from Drop Dead Generous to buy miswaks for the people we support in Calais!

A miswak is a natural teeth-cleaning stick made from the Salvadora persica tree — used for centuries across the Middle East, Africa and South Asia. No toothpaste needed, no running water needed. For many of the people we support, it's not a novelty — it's simply what they know from home. In a place where so much has been taken away, having access to something familiar matters more than you might think.

Thanks to this donation, we were able to buy a huge bulk supply — enough to last us a good while.

Want to help us keep showing up — with miswaks, wound care, and everything in between? Our summer appeal is open. https://www.f-a-s-t.eu/summer-appeal/

A big thank you to Drop Dead Generous for making this happen!