Herts Welcomes Refugees worked in partnership with Hart Learning and Development, to support 7 asylum seekers, four of whom had been given Leave to Remain, to achieve a qualification in Work Skills during August 2024.

The course ran from the 6th to the 19th of August 2024 with a cohort of 7 students who were all keen to improve their English and increase their chances of gaining employment by upskilling. The learners’ ages ranged from 24 to late 30s and came from a range of backgrounds and countries they had to leave, such as Honduras, Somalia, Southern Sudan and Venezuela due to difficult and complex circumstances.

The course covered the following topics

• Budgeting and finance skills
• Effective communication
• Health and Safety in the home
• Confidence building
• Citizenship
• Rights and responsibilities as a tenant
• Keeping safe
• Contribute to healthy living
• Understand how to deal with problems

On successful completion of the course, the students were awarded 3 qualifications at Level 1. These were in Mental Health Awareness, Customer Service Skills and in Employability.  In addition the students were given the opportunity to progress onto a variety of different online courses, to access 1-year FREE access to Microsoft 365 and to a 1-year student discount.
Maz, the course tutor, reported that attendance was fantastic each day and overall everyone was eager to learn and get involved in the different activities. The students enjoyed discussing British values, PREVENT, and how to apply and get ready for work.

At the start of the course, both the tutor and the students found ways to understand and communicate with each other and to complete the work required to achieve their qualifications. By the end of the course the students’ English had improved, their confidence had grown, and they had made new friendships, providing mutual support throughout the 10 days.

Maz observed “to watch them grow in confidence and have a better understanding of what it takes to live and work in the UK was fulfilling and they also taught me about their countries and their lives, the hardships and what they had to overcome to get to the UK. I wish them a happy future in the UK, they were honestly one of the best groups I have had the pleasure of teaching.”

The comments below were made by three of the students about the course and what they got out of it.

• “What I liked most about the course was the mock interview, as it’s the most difficult part of getting a job”.
• “This was a helpful course; I have built my confidence and gained more knowledge. I want to thank our tutor.”
• “It was nice and very empowering for me, I got more confidence and learned a lot about how to protect myself and how to motivate myself. I am happy I got this opportunity.”

 

We have some great new opportunities to volunteer with us.

On our management team we are looking for a Treasurer and Safeguarding lead and at a more operational level help with IT and book-keeping.

​Pop over to our Volunteer page for job descriptions or follow our new LinkedIn pages

Interested?  We look forward to hearing from you. Contact us at [email protected]

We’ve been busy contacting all 12 of Hertfordshire's MPs since the general election to showcase our work and appeal for a better asylum system.

It was great to meet with new MP for Hemel Hempstead David Taylor (pictured above middle with representatives from HWR) recently, who said: “It's right that our Labour government will speed up asylum applications so that people are not left in limbo. I will also be pushing for a system that treats people with dignity, and addresses the problems in the system that leaves charities like Herts Welcomes Refugees picking up the pieces.”

And two local volunteers were invited to address members of Welwyn Hatfield Labour Group, including newly-elected MP Andrew Lewin. They showed great interest in our work, particularly the support we give to asylum seekers in two local hotels, and were keen to know what help they might be able to offer. This is a dialogue we intend to continue and we have already received several expressions of interest to help!

In Stevenage Kevin Bonavia contacted us for a very productive meeting.  Kevin is the co-chair with Baron Alf Dubs of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Refugees so was keen to learn of our experiences of current issues. We were able to let him know about concerns across the county such as the speedy roll-out of e-visas and the dearth of local legal aid immigration lawyers as well as the situation at the local asylum seeker hotels which he hopes to visit. 

​We support this statement from Together with Refugees:

"We stand with all those targeted in these hateful  attacks, many of whom came to the UK having already fled violence and persecution.
 
Solidarity with all local communities & their countless acts of resistance, bravery, and support.
 
Love will always triumph over hate."
 
From our daily work with asylum seekers and refugees we know that each person has their own story of persecution, wants to contribute to society and educate their children.
​
The type of behaviour we have been witnessing does not represent us, is not in our name and should be condemned by all. 

We were pleased to read this update from the Refugee Council, detailing four significant changes to refugee policy made by the Government in the last few weeks:

1. On his first full day as Prime Minister, Keir Starmer announced the end of the Rwanda Plan.
2. On 23 July, the Government announced it would stop using the Bibby Stockholm barge and other unsuitable accommodation for people seeking asylum.
3. On the following day, the Government confirmed that they will process the claims of those arriving since March 2023, who have been left in limbo by the Illegal Migration Act.
4. And today's announcement, which means Afghan families will now have a way to be safely together again.

The Refugee Council has a template letter at this link so you can write to your MP to show your support.

​Congratulations!  Volunteer Kate tells us “Wafaa and Samer passed their B1 Language Test last week. They are very happy! We've been preparing for some time and I'm delighted to say that he passed with Distinction and she with Merit. They gave me a lovely family lunch today to celebrate!”
If you would like to help a refugee with their English please get in touch at [email protected]

A great example of partnership working to help refugees into education and employment. 
 
Volunteer Alison reports “Over 50 people of 22 nationalities attended, with a 60%/40% split between asylum seekers and refugees came to our Education Fair today. 7 invited organisations  included West Herts College; Community Action Dacorum; South Hill Centre, Steps2Skills; Herts Services for Young People; Employability for Overseas Nationals Programme and the DENS employment team.
 
The stall holders, including Herts Welcomes Refugees, had stands to promote a huge range of ESOL courses, other training, employment advice and wellbeing activities. 
 
Several organisations spoke to between 20 and 50 people, so that's hundreds of conversations that led to at least 60 sign-ups and bookings plus dozens of ideas and flyers for people to follow up on.
 
It was an event with lots of positive energy and much appreciated by all.” 
 






Here are just a few of the positive comments from the organisations that attended. 
​

• "It was a great event, and we were happy to be there."
•  " The atmosphere was positive, and everyone seemed to have a purpose at the event."
•  "It was noticeable to me how people were relaxed, comfortable and smiling. It was a good environment for families to engage."
•  " It was well planned and friendly. I had lots of visitors, both in groups and individually."
•  "It was a buzzing atmosphere."
•  "I was impressed by the interaction I had with HWR volunteers."
• "Please keep us in the loop if you are doing similar events in the future! We'd love to come along."

 
Volunteer Jane says “None of this could happen without the Church who welcome us every week, our amazing childcare team and ALL our volunteers.  Whether you were there last Friday or one of the well-wishers, you'll know that this kind of success is the result of all our work, the relationships we build and the support we give week in, week out.” 

We are delighted that works by four of the artists featured at ​https://www.hertswelcomes.org.uk/refugee-week--artists-work are on display/for sale at the St Albans Art Society exhibition, which you can visit from today until Saturday at Upper Dagnall Street Baptist Church Hall, open daily from 10 am to 5.30 pm.  You can see here the busy private view along with the artists' work and  Shervin next to his striking paintings about refuge and welcome.