Julie Taylor-Lange is a notable local artist. See her website Julie Taylor-Lange Inspirations Artist & illustrator Brightlingsea – Artist and Illustrator, Seascapes Murals Art Projects Art Promotions (julietaylorlange.com). Julie has kindly donated a painting of Sunflowers in a blue vase, the colours of the Ukraine flag. To own this painting you can take part in […]
Category Archives: News
The past year has been very eventful for us all, with lockdowns and gradual opening up, seeing loved ones for the first time in months, political intrigue and a lot happening locally with refugees and asylum seekers. At RA-C our activities have continued to expand, and there has been an increase in casework as well […]
As usual, a lot has been happening thanks to the involvement of enthusiastic and committed volunteers. And we are currently in the process of guiding a large cohort of new volunteers through our induction procedure. We are on the verge of holding our 4th Information morning to give a very general picture of RA-C and […]
The number of asylum seekers in Colchester has risen dramatically since housing providers started taking over cheap HMO property, some of which had previously been used as student accommodation. There are now 20 such houses in Colchester. Two house families, one a single vulnerable woman, and the rest between 3 and 6 residents each. There […]
The Afghan Crisis has caused a huge amount of extra work for the caseworkers. On the first Friday after the fall of Kabul we had 150 calls to the office. Things are calmer now, but we get several requests a day for help. There is no paid support for the Afghan families when they arrive […]
Despite the unfolding tragedies of Kabul and Afghanistan, and our response to that, we all have to continue our endeavours in the Colchester and RA-C community. A number of our refugee friends have been able to help with welcoming the Afghans and interpreting for them, which reflects the fact that we are truly a community. […]
We have all watched the terrible events unfold in Afghanistan over the last few weeks and witnessed untold suffering of people in the country. Some of our clients here in Colchester, have family back in Afghanistan and what is happening in their country has obviously brought deep fear and anxiety to them. We set up […]
We began offering our Foodbank to our clients back in January this year. Now more than ever, we have seen a huge increase in our Foodbank being used. Just last week we saw over 30 uses of the foodbank – 15 families – mainly people with no recourse to public funds and unable to work […]
Mohammad has been a RA-C client since late April, when he was moved from London to Colchester. He is from Iran and is seeking asylum. He has become very involved in his community here and volunteers three times a week at his local church. From time to time he also attends RA-C’s gardening and table […]
Thousands of people seeking asylum are waiting years for a decision from the Home Office The Refugee Council has just published a report (July 2021) that reveals just how long many asylum seekers in the UK must wait for an initial decision on whether they will be allowed to remain in this country. Various bodies, […]