In the UK and many other countries, November is a time for remembering. All Saints’ and All Souls’ Day remember those who have lived and died in their faith. And, of course, on Remembrance Day we remember those who died in battle – above all, the millions who perished in the two world wars of the last century.
The First World War was called by many, ‘the war to end all wars’, but sadly history has proved this was not to be the case. In June 2024, the UN Refugee Agency reported that a record-breaking 120 million individuals have been forced to flee their homes due to war, violence and persecution – the 12th year in a row the number has increased. Many of our clients come from countries affected by war and persecution, so it is important to all involved with the project that they receive a warm welcome, compassion and a listening ear.
The Refugee Project continues to welcome clients from across the world. In September, we supported 510 individuals and families and received 27 new registrations from clients in need of food and toiletries to supplement their meagre allowance. We also provided 18 destitute clients with supermarket vouchers. With such high numbers of clients needing support, we really do need and value your donations of food, toiletries and finance.
Clients always appreciate the fresh food items that we are able to obtain and our Project Co-ordinator works hard to find supermarkets that will donate to us. So, we were very pleased that recently we added Lidl in Longbenton as a supermarket we can now collect food from. We would also like to extend a huge thank you to
St Mary’s Catholic Primary School in Newton Aycliffe for the large amount of food they donated recently. Thank you!
The project continues to offer opportunities to our clients to learn English, with volunteers providing lessons on a Wednesday and Friday. Also, we were really pleased to learn that Newcastle City College have expanded their English courses to now include asylum seekers who have been in the country for less than 6 months. These opportunities are valued by our clients and allow them to make good progress in acquiring English skills to support their integration and further training opportunities.
As you may be aware, many of our clients wait a long time, often years, to receive decisions on their asylum claims and this is a difficult time for them. Recently one of our clients received news that he had received leave to remain and he came in to the project with his guitar to play to everyone (see the photo below). He said that he was very relieved after such a long wait and wanted to celebrate with everyone!
We continue to rely on the generosity of individuals and parishes for donations for which we are incredibly grateful. Items most urgently needed can be found here. As we continue to support more than 500 clients and their families each month, financial support for our work is also essential. Details of our bank account (DHN Justice & Peace Refugee Project) can be found on our webpage. Please consider Gift-Aiding your donation, if possible, it makes a big difference. You can download and submit a Gift-Aid Declaration form for a single or multiple donation. Visit our Donate and Gift Aid page now.
For more details about our work and how you can assist, please contact our Project Co-ordinator by email: jp.refugeeproject@diocesehn.org.uk or visit our webpage.
