Written by Mahliqa Ali
Photography by Ryan Lee
Christmas is a time of giving. Driven by holiday spirit, many start considering meaningful causes to support as the year draws to a close. While this season brings a surge of charitable donations, some individuals on campus, such as Sachin Bhopal-Myers, commit to giving back all year round. Awarded LSESU’s 2024 Activist of the Year for his fundraising, activism, and community-building efforts, Sachin exemplifies how we can consistently enact change at LSE and beyond.
Sachin is Co-President of LSESU Student Action for Refugees, which he re-founded to advocate for refugees, migrants, and displaced people. He is also Vice President of LSESU Raising and Giving, the charitable arm of the Student Union, fundraising this year for The Sharan Project, Women for Refugee Women, and Care4Calais. Beyond campus roles, Sachin is a volunteer humanitarian aid worker for refugees in Northern France.
Sachin’s commitment to refugee rights began as a student activist with Citizens UK, joining community advocacy against deportation of a 16- year- old Sudanese student, ultimately resulting in the recent overturning of the deportation decision. This led him to a leadership role in the End Child Detention campaign, which works against children being detained for immigration reasons. Compelled to witness the conditions of displacement firsthand, he travelled to Northern France to volunteer with Care4Calais, providing direct support to refugees.
This experience brought the reality of the situation into sharp focus. ‘‘I realised how badly they needed volunteers, how important the work is of distributing humanitarian aid to people living in dire conditions,’’ Sachin explains. What began as a week-long stint snowballed into multiple regular trips, including two visits this summer and one in early November, with another planned just before Christmas.
“What motivates me is that I can see the injustice on such a huge scale. It’s very blatant – you see in the media every day that people are dying in small boats. There’s been one death every five days this year, at least seventy-two deaths this year in the Channel.”
He adds, “I’ve been to more vigils than I can count, and rather than having that stop me because I have to see things I don’t want to see, it motivates me to carry on, because I can see the situation’s only getting worse. It’s a humanitarian catastrophe.’’
The Christmas season brings an influx of donations and volunteers to charities, including Care4Calais, a trend he attributes to multiple reasons, and views with mixed feelings.“The lead-up to Christmas is usually very busy. You get a lot of people coming, which has its pros and cons. Generally in winter, numbers can get really low. I was there at the start of November, where they only had six volunteers, and I was able to bring four more people over to slightly increase numbers. It’s extremely difficult to deliver key services people rely on with so few volunteers.’’
Reflecting on this, Sachin acknowledges that people may be more available around Christmas. Volunteering in Calais requires a time commitment of at least a few days, meaning many university students make the most of the relative flexibility of their schedules, using reading weeks, long summers and winter holidays to engage in aid work at certain seasonal times of the year.
“I think a lot of people’s motivation is that they have time around Christmas, and I completely understand that, but when people go for the wrong reasons, that’s a problem. Voluntourism is definitely a thing, and the organisations in Calais are susceptible to it. I don’t go for a holiday, I go to work. You have nine-hour days, really long days,’’ Sachin expresses.
He also highlights the multifacetedness of Christmas goodwill, remarking that holiday generosity benefits charities desperate for money., ‘’Charities can benefit from people being more willing to donate at Christmas, such as the ‘Donate £25 to Buy a Coat for a Homeless Person’ campaign. Their marketing definitely plays on that Christmas spirit of giving, and that’s fair enough: essentially organisations have to capitalise on the opportunity to get funding.’’
However, Sachin observes that “it can also feel very superficial and capitalistic.’.’ While Christmas carries the sentiment of giving, it also carries the sentiment of consumerism. Under late-stage capitalism, Christmas has become a highly commercialised economic event, with businesses pushing aggressive marketing campaigns to encourage purchases. The spike in charitable donations at Christmas may come across as superficial philanthropy – to offset the money (over)spent on presents.
Sachin recommends considering off-peak times of the year when demand for help is higher. ‘’You can definitely go over the Christmas period and be really helpful, but maybe look at when else they need volunteers, because a lot of people go during the Christmas period, whereas if you’ve got a few weeks you can spare in the New Year, or the first few weeks of January and February, it might be more impactful.’’ He encourages donating year-round, when charities usually lack holiday funding.
For Sachin, getting involved with campus fundraising and volunteering offers an accessible way for anyone at LSE to make a difference, recognising that volunteering abroad requires significant time and money. ‘’If you have an idea, just ask questions. Get in touch with the president, or someone you know who’s in the society, and just suggest things we could try. A lot of societies are really open to people coming up with new ideas, they want people to get involved and help out, even in small capacities.’’
He highlights how rewarding getting involved can be, both for the cause and for you personally. “It’s great to meet like-minded people. Socially, the people I’m now really close friends with came from being part of societies. When you get involved with a cause you care about, you’ll meet people who share the same values, so naturally you build some really great friendships.’’
Sachin’s work underscores a broader vision for the future: a campus, and a society, rooted in a culture of giving. ‘’I think it runs along the idea of wealth distribution, because I give to charity year round, whether it’s through volunteering or donating money. I try to make an effort because I have the privilege that I’m in a place where I can do that. There’s a lot of people who are in that position, who don’t realise how much of an impact they could have,’’ he notes.
Considering LSE’s corporate reputation, he advocates for a mindset shift away from capitalistic wealth accumulation and towards a culture of consistent mutual aid. “‘’A lot of people, particularly at LSE, come from wealthy backgrounds, and can afford to donate to crowdfunders, charities, or to volunteer. It’s a choice about what they do with their money, and it’s about creating a culture around giving where you help people who have less money or access to resources. If you have that money, you should be part of the solution, because that’s collective solidarity.’’
As he prepares for another trip to Calais, Sachin’s dedication reminds us that the spirit of giving does not have to be seasonal. It is a call to action: to re-examine the year-round comforts of our lives and consider how we can share our privilege. Whether on campus, in Calais, or elsewhere, there are always ways to make an impact that counts.
Organisations that work with refugees in Calais:
Refugee Community Kitchen (RCK)
Channel Information Project (CHIP)
On Campus Activist Groups:
LSESU Student Action for Refugees
Check out LSESU’S Charity, Campaigning, and Political page to find student groups advocating for a range of causes.
