We caught up with Enas who sent this lovely video about herself and her work:

And artist Enas and volunteer Helen were delighted to be interviewed by Elly O'Meara for her MIX Mornings show on MIX FM: ​

In the last few months, our teams have rolled out use of a data collection tool, Monday.com which has been set up to help us record our activities.
The training is now complete and our volunteers regularly fill out a simple template showing what they have done to help refugees and asylum seekers, with activities divided into categories. This can then be represented visually to help us demonstrate our work to our funders and help us strategically decide where to focus our efforts.
To capture the amazing work that is happening every day is very powerful, and we would like to thank all our volunteers and the management team members who have developed the use of Monday.com and run the training.

You may remember Najah and Arwa, who spoke at our AGM about their participation in Doulas without Borders.

This year we asked them what they are doing at Christmas and received these lovely replies, showing how they combine their cultural traditions and take on new ones:

Arwa
My name is Arwa, I am from Syria. I am a member of the Herts Welcomes Refugees Advisory Group.
During the Christmas holiday I don’t have any special celebrations. But I plan to spend time with my family, specially they are on long holiday.
So, we are planning to go to London to watch and enjoy the Christmas lights than we would like to have a family dinner at the restaurant.
My daughter, who is studying a Masters in architecture, has university homework to take pictures of some distinctive buildings in London or another city,
so we might visit Oxford city to take some photos of unique buildings and that will be a good opportunity to see the city.
Happy Christmas and New Year! I wish to have a happy celebration 🎉

Najah
Although we’re Syrian Muslims and don’t actively celebrate Christmas in the traditional sense, we do love partaking and appreciating the Christmas spirit!
We love visiting Oxford Street and seeing the Christmas decorations! We also send Christmas cards to family friends who celebrate Christmas. Big gatherings take place with friends and family, we have a nice dinner together and enjoy each other’s company. So all in all we wouldn’t call these regular days, and we really do appreciate the values of togetherness and charity in Christmas!

How will you celebrate the festive season? We know it is a tough time for many people but wish all our friends and supporters a happy time and all the best for 2025.  The painting below is from a talented young asylum seeker at one of our art sessions.  

​“I shut down because I couldn’t stand up” Dania Alrefai was a child when she witnessed atrocities in Syria before finding sanctuary with her family in Hertfordshire.  Now a University student and a member of Herts Welcomes Refugees’ Advisory Group, Dania talks to Babs Michel on BBC Three Counties Radio about her hopes and fears for the future following the fall of Assad: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0kb8jkv

Check out the link to read about our Warm Welcome Fundraising Appeal, sending e-cards by talented refugee artists, our Forced to Flee report, a video on a busy year and more!

Today sees the launch of our Warm Welcome Fundraising Appeal.  

Please give what you can to help us continue our work supporting refugees and asylum seekers in Hertfordshire.  Thank you so much!

Further to our support of the Refugee Council's paper: Rescue, Recovery and Reform, we are pleased that the Home Office has announced that newly recognised refugees will be given 56 days to find a place to live, double the current 28-day period.. Although this is only a pilot, as the Refugee Council states:

'Today's welcome news should help people who have been given refugee status have enough time to find accommodation, work and other necessities to rebuild their lives in Britain.'

Last week, two of our volunteers went to Mix FM 92.6 for an interview with Elly O'Mara for her morning show.   You can hear clips from the interview below.

Dr Marianne Coleman speaks about the Forced to Flee report, where she interviewed 35 young male asylum seekers about how they were forced to flee their homes and make perilous journeys here.

And volunteer Helen Singer speaks about what Herts Welcomes Refugees does, and how you can help.

​Do have a listen.

We support the new briefing paper from the Refugee Council which calls for:

• An immediate repeal of the Illegal Migrant Act and the Safety of Rwanda Act
• Introducing a clear and transparent plan for how the backlog of asylum claims will be processed and prioritised
• Moving away from the current system of private accommodation contracts and instead empowering local councils to provide value for money housing
• Extending the move-on period from 28 days to 56 days after someone receives a positive decision on their asylum claim
• Putting in place a team within the Home Office to review all asylum refusals that have been appealed to ensure the correct decision was made first time
• Limiting the conduct of age determinations to staff with relevant training
• Expanding safe routes, including by making a clear commitment on refugee resettlement
• Implementing a more effective voluntary returns programme.

Read the full briefing paper at ​https://www.refugeecouncil.org.uk/information/resources/rescue-recovery-and-reform-towards-an-effective-asylum-system/www.refugeecouncil.org.uk/information/resources/rescue-recovery-and-reform-towards-an-effective-asylum-system/

See our volunteer coordinator Ruhena speak with GoVolHerts about the support you receive when volunteering with us.  Read more on our volunteering page: Volunteer