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Charity Sale: Singulart supports Doctors of the World

Singulart is proud once again to be supporting Doctors of the World the international human rights organization who provides emergency and long-term medical care to vulnerable people.

By organizing our first online charity sale, Singulart is renewing strengthening our partnership with Doctors of the World and recognising our founding values of diversity and equal opportunity for all.

Doctors of the World is an international organization operating in 73 countries. The organization places the cultural and social diversity of populations at the heart of its ethics and humanitarian practices. To learn more about our partnership with Doctors of the World, read our interview with Olivia Amos, Event Manager at Doctors of the World.

Interview with Clémentine Bret, Minors at Risk representative at Doctors of the World

Clémentine Bret, Minor at Risk representative at Doctors of the World

How did you get to join Doctors of the World?

I am a jurist by training, specializing in foreigners’ rights. I previously worked with several organizations in France. Then, I collaborated with Doctors of the World on a number of field projects on international migration routes. I then joined Doctors of the World’s actions in France. I am devoting myself to the issue of minors at risk.

What is Doctors of the World’s mission for unaccompanied minors?

Half of the refugees in the world are children. Amongst these there a growing number of minors who find themselves alone in France. They may have lost their parents during the migration journey or left alone to flee their country. To ensure these minors’ right to protection is central to our mission.

What is the current situation in France?

French law states that any minor in danger must benefit from protection. Foreign minors who are alone in French territory are considered in danger and benefit from child protection, which is a departmental responsibility.

However, these children are mostly treated as migrants and not as children in danger. In spite of France’s commitments, we face multiple refusals to take care of unaccompanied children by the departmental councils. Thus, they are left without protection, shelter, food and without the care required for their mental and physical health. Contrary to the presumption of minority, they must justify their situation as minors by themselves, which is almost impossible without identity papers. Contested methods are used to assess their age in an unacceptable manner and conditions.

Not being recognized as children, child protection systems exclude them and leave them on their own, without access to adult systems either.

La belle croisière, Thibault Laget-Ro

What kind of actions is Doctors of the World implementing to provide first aid to minors?

Doctors of the World has set up 3 programs: in Nantes, Caen and Paris for unaccompanied minors who do not benefit from state care. More than 2,000 minors access these programs.

Our actions are mainly focusing on:

  • Providing emergency first aid: physical and mental health consultation
  • Supporting access to the health care system
  • Promoting access to rights: through information on their situation and introductions to relevant associations and lawyers.
  • Strengthening their capacities: through workshops, we enable young people to understand the health care system and give them tools to preserve their health, limit risks to their safety and assert their rights.
  • Advocating: through our knowledge of the situation of unaccompanied minors, we work to change practices and regulations to recognize that an unaccompanied child is above all a child in danger.

How have unaccompanied minors been impacted by the international health crisis?

Unaccompanied minors were among the major absentees from health care during the Covid-19 crisis. Thus, children have been left to their own devices, wandering in ghost towns. Doctors of the World had to close its physical reception centres and find new solutions to keep in touch with young people, who often did not understand the situation. We set up a telephone hotline and undertook social and medical consultations by remotely. The public authorities were slow to react and the only solution to protect these young people was often in the courtroom.

Though our networks here in Paris, 50 minors have been able to benefit from accommodation adapted to their situation and health instructions during confinement.

Do you have a message for the future?

The inspiring actions of individuals we see every day are evidence that citizens want to change the world. The initiatives of individuals and community groups add up and can make a difference. This is why, I believe that together, we can change the way we look at these children and teenagers. We can finally see them as simply children, who aspire to grow up and become exceptional beings.

Discover the Singulart collection on Exile, a collaborative collection of Singulart and Médecins du Monde.

Could you give us some examples of what Doctors of the World can do with such donations?

  • With a donation of €150, you enable Doctors of the World to provide comprehensive care (reception, treatment, follow-up) for one unaccompanied minor each day.
  • With a generous donation of €20,000, you will enable Doctors of the World to pay for one year of daily interpreting services.
  • A donation of 50 000€, would allow Doctors of the World to run a mobile clinic in France for one year.

Acquire an artwork and make a donation

Participate in Singulart’s Charity Sale for Doctors of the World

From October 8th to 12th, Singulart is launching its very first charity auction for the NGO Doctors of the World.

Discover the works of the 40 participating artists and participate in the sale of this significant collection!