The Illustrated Immigrants project first began in my sketchbook when I went to the Calais refugee camp in May 2016. I volunteered in arts workshops, distributing donated clothes and by helping to repair damaged shelters. I also began an arts reportage project wherein I drew everyday moments in the camp as to document the daily lived experiences of asylum seekers who are denied refuge in the UK. at the time, it was estimated that were as many as 10,000 people, predominantly from Africa and the Middle East, residing in the camp, just 100 miles away from London.