Story
As young people flee conflict in countries like Sudan, Eritrea and Syria to find safety in the UK, they tell us that education is crucial for rebuilding their confidence, their sense of belonging and, most importantly, their hope for the future. But young refugees and asylum seekers face many challenges and barriers to progressing in their education once they arrive in the UK - such as language barriers, poor mental health and trauma, isolation from peers and support networks, and immigration related challenges.
Through our specialist educational support programme, Refugee Support Network gives presence to these young people by providing face to face, individual advice, advocacy and psychosocial support to help them overcome these challenges and find hope through education. Our support worker meets one to one with young people over 6 months or more, helping them to feel believed, supported and understood.
One young person, Sara, told us:
I can say that there is a lightness now. The last few months were really hard, but it is feeling a bit better now. I'm thinking again about the future.
Right now, we have young people like Sara on our waiting list for specialist support, and we need your help to reach them in the new year. So please, stand with refugees this Christmas and as you give presents, support us to give presence to a young refugee. You are giving the gift of a hopeful future. Thank you.
We're very grateful to Pulse Management for their generous sponsorship of this campaign with the first £500. Pulse specialise in the design and delivery of exceptional projects to create engaging retail environments with an impeccable finish. They say, "We're committed to giving away a portion of our profits to charities and projects chosen by our staff. Our commitment to give something back drives us forward. This contributes to a fun-loving, hard-working environment of accountability and pride in what we do because were convinced that places make a difference to people."
What will my support do?
- £5 would pay for a young refugee to travel to attend a support session
- £20 allows our support worker to accompany a young person to a meeting with a doctor or immigration lawyer that they would struggle to go to alone
-£35 enables our support worker to work through particular challenges alongside a young person, such as filling in an application to fund course fees, or advocating with a college on their behalf
-£70 helps us provides a safe, welcoming environment for all our young people to meet our support worker
Watch our video and listen to our director Catherine on why she gives presence:
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