A month after the fire which ravaged the Emmaüs premises in Camon, in the Somme, the association organized an “exceptional” sale this Saturday, December 14, 2024. The opportunity to find Christmas gifts at low prices.
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Difficult to move through the aisles at Emmaüs, in Camon, near Amiens, this Saturday, December 14. The association opened its doors for a “exceptional Christmas sale“. Sofas, furniture, decoration… Almost nothing new. Enough to seduce today’s customers. “I let myself go a little. I wanted a sofa. Finally, I bought a sofa, a coffee table, two chairs, paintings, a lamp, a rug and I forget some. I’m happy, because I’m getting good deals and it makes sense“, testifies a buyer.
For the companions and volunteers, this represents an important day. “There are a lot more people today than usual. It’s a lot of work, but also a lot of emotion“, says Gilbert Martin, a companion for thirteen years. If the emotion is palpable, it is notably because the association had to face complicated weeks, after the fire of its premises in early November 2024.
During the night of Sunday November 3 to Monday November 4, around 3 a.m., a fire damaged the Emmaüs administrative building in Camon. Although there were no injuries, the damage was significant. The social worker’s office was ravaged by flames. “She worked for a year on the files, including confidential papers, she has to redo everything.” lamented Sylvie Dupuis, the vice-president. Around 50 years of archives were also destroyed.
Basically, the social worker’s office was ravaged by flames.
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© Lucie Carbajal / FTV
“We live on our sales. For months, we have been making efforts and this is what is happening to us. Since the start of the year, we have had fewer donations since people are struggling, current society is difficult, so people sell either through sites or by themselves in reselling“, she lamented the day after the events.
A month later, not much has changed. Time seems frozen. The offices have not yet been cleaned as the investigation is still ongoing. The first quotes from craftsmen for the refurbishment are around 80,000 euros. So this Christmas sale comes at the right time for the association’s finances, and especially after a difficult year 2024 for the community. “We had post-Covid, we lost a lot of money. We were slowly starting to get back on track and then there was Abbé Pierre, the fire… This year 2024 was complicated to manage, but we hope that 2025 will be better“, tells us Pascal Orillard, director of the Emmaüs community in Camon.
The Samarian branch must do the accounts in the coming days. With this “open house” day, and thanks to the 700 entries recorded, she hopes to raise 10,000 euros.
With Léna Thobie-Gorce / FTV
