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Volunteer stories |
 Portrait of volunteer Marianne My career has been entirely in education, first in secondary schools and then in universities, where I focused on social justice issues in education. When I retired, I was a trustee of a children’s educational charity. After my time there, and after the disruption of Covid had died down, I was keen to work again with a charity, and heard about HWR from a friend. I did not know what to expect but went to help out at the drop in at a church in Hemel Hempstead and soon got drawn in.
I was really pleased to be able to use skills and experience I had acquired working in education. First of all, I supported adult asylum seekers in accessing ESOL courses at the local college. It was so exciting to see how happy people were, as they went back into the classroom, sometimes after many years. I am learning all the time as well, trying to find my way through the complexities of educational possibilities for asylum seekers and refugees. Another positive and exciting experience was working with our team, and lots of local partners in Dacorum to provide a ‘summer school’ when we had an influx of college age youngsters who arrived during the Spring of last year and could not be accepted in either school or college. Through this we ensured that about 25 youngsters were given some educational opportunities rather than missing out completely, in some cases for a whole academic year. It has been a real privilege to work with asylum seekers taking their ‘testimony’ so that they had their ‘story’ clear and in chronological order in preparation for their substantive interview with the Home Office. More recently I have had the opportunity to interview some of the young men who have been given right to remain. Inevitably a lot of what I have heard has been shocking. I have heard a lot of sad and difficult things but I have been so impressed by the strength and resilience I have witnessed. Over the last few years, I have gained enormously in knowledge and understanding and have met so many wonderful and inspirational people, both the volunteers and the asylum seekers and refugees we aspire to support. |