An educational summer camp set up in Calais by a senior United Synagogue staff member and run with the help of a rabbinical couple has benefited more than 100 child refugees.
For five days, children aged from four to 18 living in the "Calais Jungle" learned English and took part in drama, arts and crafts, music and cookery sessions.
The Step Up camp was organised by Chayli Fehler, children's education manager at the US, who enlisted the support of Hampstead Garden Suburb Synagogue's Rabbi Dov Kaplan and his wife Freda.
Ms Fehler - also director of HGSS's Aleph learning centre - said it was "vital" to progress the education of the young refugees, who had travelled from Syria, Eritrea, Sudan, Chad, Afghanistan and Ethiopia. "It offers hope, stability, integration and a sense of normality in a shattered and disrupted life. It is also a fundamental tool to empower young refugees to one day make a positive contribution, wherever they may live."
After twice volunteering in Calais, she felt educational activities were lacking.
An act of kindness is the essence of the Torah
"Hundreds of unaccompanied teens were wandering aimlessly around the camp," she reported. For her, the most affecting response came when she asked the children to write about their hopes for the future.
"One wanted to be a doctor, others wanted to be a teacher, an engineer or in tech. But all they want to do for now is get to England, be reunited with their families and start their future."
Rabbi Kaplan said he volunteered because "it's the Jewish way. If someone is suffering, you go and help.
"To do an act of kindness, of chesed, is the essence of Torah."
However, the Kaplans were advised not to reveal their Judaism in case it sparked a negative reaction. The rabbi used a different name and wore a cap to cover his kippah while teaching the children numbers, months and days of the week. His wife found the first day "a culture shock. But you quickly learn what you can and can't do.
"You hear individual stories and it becomes heart-wrenching." One boy she met "had no one in the world. His name was Ashgan. He was 16, from Afghanistan and he didn't know anyone. He was calling me 'Mama'."