|
Can you help us give a warm welcome to refugees in Hertfordshire? |
Please give generously to our warm welcome fundraising appeal. We still desperately need your help to provide a warm welcome to refugees in Hertfordshire,
Donate now using the button below or see this short video explaining 6 other ways you can help us. Thank you so much.
Donate now using the button below or see this short video explaining 6 other ways you can help us. Thank you so much.
"When you arrive as an asylum seeker you have nothing."
Herts Welcomes Refugees has seen a massive rise in the number of asylum seekers and refugees like Arash that we support. We urgently need more funding to help us continue to provide material help along with all the other help our volunteers provide. Asylum seekers and refugees share the common aim of wanting to build a life in the UK. We are constantly amazed by their resilience and the range of skills that they can contribute to our communities. Herts Welcomes Refugees wants to support them as they face the challenges presented by their circumstances.
Imagine living on £8.86 a week
Asylum seekers often arrive with just the clothes they stand up in. They face long delays before their claims are decided and are living through uncertain times before they can get on with building their lives. As the seasons change, children grow, adults and children go to school and college and some seek out opportunities to volunteer, their needs change. Those in hotels get board and lodging (which meets the low standards required by the government’s hostile environment policy) but only £8.86 per person per week to cover everything else, including clothes, school uniform and shoes, bus fares and supplemental food. As part of the welcome and ongoing support, we use our funds to help provide some of these essentials.
Herts Welcomes Refugees has seen a massive rise in the number of asylum seekers and refugees like Arash that we support. We urgently need more funding to help us continue to provide material help along with all the other help our volunteers provide. Asylum seekers and refugees share the common aim of wanting to build a life in the UK. We are constantly amazed by their resilience and the range of skills that they can contribute to our communities. Herts Welcomes Refugees wants to support them as they face the challenges presented by their circumstances.
Imagine living on £8.86 a week
Asylum seekers often arrive with just the clothes they stand up in. They face long delays before their claims are decided and are living through uncertain times before they can get on with building their lives. As the seasons change, children grow, adults and children go to school and college and some seek out opportunities to volunteer, their needs change. Those in hotels get board and lodging (which meets the low standards required by the government’s hostile environment policy) but only £8.86 per person per week to cover everything else, including clothes, school uniform and shoes, bus fares and supplemental food. As part of the welcome and ongoing support, we use our funds to help provide some of these essentials.
refugee family image
|
Arash: “There’s nothing like giving up your life and fleeing to another country. You are suffering mentally. You have many problems with no bank account. In Iran, I was a software engineer and was used to providing for my family. But I fled with my wife and two-year-old daughter because we feared for our lives. We arrived in the UK in February 2022, a wet and stormy month. It took time to receive the government card to buy basic essentials. But Herts Welcomes Refugees immediately gave us clothes, shoes and vouchers for food. Later, I had an opportunity to volunteer with Mind. It was in an office, but I didn’t have any suitable clothes to wear. I really wanted the role as I knew it would help me get into paid work, and also make friends and connections with colleagues. Pete, a Herts Welcomes Refugees volunteer, took me to a charity shop to get what I needed to look smart. I got trousers, a shirt, jumper and work bag. I am so grateful for all the help we received. Herts Welcomes Refugees really helps people. They helped me and my family. It made us feel happy and safe that people were there for us in our time of need. It gives us hope for a bright future here.” |
Making a house a home
Following the closure of the Afghan bridging hotels, more Afghan refugees are settling permanently in Hertfordshire after living in hotels for two years. Having their own space is great and they are provided with some basics but we help them to turn their house into a home by providing a welcome package of household goods which costs in the region of £500. Now that many families are arriving we are finding it difficult to provide welcome packages and to meet other needs.
Following the closure of the Afghan bridging hotels, more Afghan refugees are settling permanently in Hertfordshire after living in hotels for two years. Having their own space is great and they are provided with some basics but we help them to turn their house into a home by providing a welcome package of household goods which costs in the region of £500. Now that many families are arriving we are finding it difficult to provide welcome packages and to meet other needs.
Refugee family image
Hussain and Jamila:
Our volunteer Jane tells us about the welcome package provided to one of the Afghan families who recently moved to their own home after two years in a hotel.
"We met Hussain and Jamila at their new home to find out what they needed. We provided a TV (an essential aid for learning English and absorbing British culture) and paid for the first year’s licence. It’s a nice place but lacking some of the essentials for daily living which can be difficult for the families to fund all at once. We always tailor what we provide to the families’ needs. In this case, we provided a pressure cooker, vacuum cleaner, iron, ironing board, clothes airer. We also provide donated goods such as kitchen equipment, a TV stand and bed linen. This means the family can spend what money they have on things that they choose and create their own home."
They were so pleased, saying "It makes a big difference to have this help to make our home and really start our lives."
All names have been changed.
Please donate now to help families like these
We need your help to bolster our funds so that we can continue to help the increased numbers of refugees and asylum seekers in Hertfordshire and address their needs as they emerge.
Any amount you can spare will help us continue to give a warm welcome to those seeking sanctuary here.
Donate here image and link