Without the wonderful partners who support our work we would find it hard to give the holistic support we currently provide for clients. We first met Mrs J and her son M around 2 years ago. Mrs J is a remarkable woman from Nigeria who came here some years ago with her son who has […]
Last night the four of us from Friends Not Foes got back from our trip to Calais, and although it sounds strange to say it we had a great time. We left on Monday morning and arrived at our campsite that evening at around 6ish. We started on Tuesday and worked 10-6. The general structure […]
Meet Zak! He’s one very cool young man, currently collaborating with local musicians. Here’s he’s rapping in Arabic about having to leave behind his home country of Syria, which he loves and misses so much. Zak came to Colchester when he was 14, and struggled with bullying at school. He’s found that some people haven’t […]
2.6 million people currently live in refugee camps around the world. These displaced people are stuck – unable to find somewhere safe to settle and earn a livelihood, but simply unable to go home. In the camps, refugees are surviving on meagre food supplies, sub-standard healthcare and in appalling conditions. Which is why one of […]
Friends Not Foes Friends Not Foes is a partner of Refugee Action – Colchester, and what we call our ‘mini-me’ organisation. We couldn’t do what we do without this wonderful group of young volunteers! The group meets twice a week at The Sixth Form College, Colchester, and offers help to refugees from local schools with […]
Community, sanctuary and delicious results Ghaliya and her husband Zak run a catering business called White Gardenia. They cook home-made, traditional Syrian cuisine that’s utterly delicious. Food from Syria is very Mediterranean with fresh salads, grilled meat, hummus, falafel and other mezze-style dishes. The couple are building a new life in Brightlingsea, where they were […]
You’ve got 20 minutes to pack a bag and flee your home. What do you take? This is a question we ask primary school children on our workshops as part of the Tendring Junior Ambassadors programme – and to be honest, your iPad won’t keep you warm at night! We’ve spoken to more than 600 children […]
‘Bless the teachers!‘ Faith would love to work with children, but reckons being a teacher looks so difficult these days! She can’t work at all, however, because the Home Office has been processing her Leave to Remain application for almost two years, and she hasn’t even had an acknowledgement from them. She’s lived in Colchester […]
Heja, her husband Jutyar, baby Lauand and Liz haven’t known each other long, but they are family. Maybe not a traditional family, but there’s a lot of love here. Liz came along to one of our community events at Firstsite a few months ago and met Heja, a young mum from Iraq. Since then, the […]
Most of our Sanctuary Seekers have Refugee Status. However, an increasing number are seeking asylum and for many this is a wait which seems like living in limbo. Planning for an uncertain future is hard but keeping hope and interests alive, particularly when you have a child, is important. Until it happens to you it […]
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