A time for GIVING

We meet two readers who go above and beyond to bring happiness to others when it's needed most

- KIM WILLIS

'IF YOU OFFER SOMEONE DIGNITY AND COMPASSION, THEY BLOSSOM'

Becky Dell, 45, from London, is the co-founder and conductor of the Citizens of the World Choir.

She also runs the Becky Dell Music Academy.

In 2015, the NHS saved my life. My surgeon was an immigrant, and it was around the time of the Syrian refugee crisis. It got me thinking about the likelihood of a Syrian woman needing the same operation, but without access to the NHS and life-saving surgery.

That year, I attended Christmas midnight Mass, and as I listened to the vicar preach love and understanding, inspiration struck. I decided to volunteer at the Calais refugee camp, known as the ‘Jungle’. Throughout 2016, I visited five times, teaching music to the kids there, and I met so many traumatised people who were generous and empathetic.

Elevating voices