Swansea City of Sanctuary and Displaced People in Action invite you to a workshop on the following theme:
Asylum and Destitution – Coping with “No Recourse to Public Funds”
Tuesday 13 March 2012, 9:30am to 4:30pm
Dyfatty Community Centre, Chapel St, Swansea, SA1 3SN.
Please see more information from the “No Recourse to Public Funds Workshop” Page on the right-hand side of this webpage
Volunteers have been at the heart of City of Sanctuary ever since it first began as a movement in Swansea.
With the advent of the People and Places National-Lottery funded project, the two project workers have started a formal volunteer scheme, which is now up and running and you can be a part of it too! All of us involved with City of Sanctuary volunteer in one way or another and you can join us to improve your skills, gain experience with a particular activity and to meet new people.
City of Sanctuary is encouraging asylum seekers and refugees and members of the local community to volunteer together to make Swansea a real place of welcome.
There are many different opportunities to make a difference in Swansea, and it doesn’t matter if you haven’t had much experience, or you are completely new to it – the City of Sanctuary project workers, Emily and Richard, will give you support, guidance and training. If your English isn’t great, it doesn’t matter – it’s the perfect place to practice your English and the more languages we have, the better!
All expenses incurred while volunteering are reimbursed because volunteering should cost you nothing, except your time!
Volunteering takes places around the city, although most work is done at Grove House in the City Centre, we’re on the same floor as Welsh Refugee Council and Swansea Bay Racial Equality Council.
If you are interested in volunteering with City of Sanctuary and you would like to discuss what we can do together, e-mail: richard.lewis@swansea.ac.uk.
Our January 2012 newsletter is now available to read on the website
Check it out through the links on the right hand side of the page.
Mon 23 Jan 2012, City Temple (Elim Church, Dyfatty Street), 4.30 for 5.00.
Guest speaker: Constance Tounkap on “Seeking Sanctuary: Journeys of Despair and Hope”
Followed by food and an evening of music, performance and celebration from 7.00 to 9.30.
Childcare will be available – please reserve places.
Contact swansea@cityofsanctuary.org
More info about the AGM here
Anna Mammedova and Keith Ross presenting the City of Sanctuary certificate to the Lord Mayor of Swansea at the Council Meeting on 19 September.
Photograph by Jason Rogers, City and County of Swansea.
On 21st June at the Brangwyn Hall we had an event to celebrate Swansea becoming an official City of Sanctuary. Read more about this in the South Wales Evening Post.
It was a fantastic programme and a great evening – thank you to all who attended and all those who participated to make the event a success.
AlHaji Kamara wrote and performed a new poem Open Up to commemorate Swansea’s achievement.
Here are some photographs of the event, taken by Allan Prys Williams.
Amel Chaoubi went to Coventry with Alan and Marilyn Thomas as part of Swansea’s delegation to the City of Sanctuary National Network meeting on 17 May at which Swansea was awarded ‘City of Sanctuary’ status. The picture shows Alan, Amel and Marilyn outside the Coventry Peace House, where the meeting was held, with (behind) Penny Walker and Clint Takudzwa Chikosha (Coventry City of Sanctuary Group) and (standing) Craig Barnett (National City of Sanctuary Coordinator).
Amel came to UK seeking sanctuary from Algeria and has been in Swansea for six years. She now has ‘leave to remain’, together with her husband and five children.
Amel says: “At the moment I am a stay-at-home mum. I can’t work because my youngest isn’t in school yet but I am studying for a Health Studies degree with the Open University, so I will be able to get a good job in the future. I want to feel useful so I do a lot of voluntary work. I’m in the Refugee Speakers’ Team [run by Displaced People in Action] and enjoy explaining to people about what is an asylum seeker or a refugee. I am one of the organisers of the Swansea Women’s Asylum Support Group. I also volunteer with SBASSG [Swansea Bay Asylum Seekers support Group] and Peace Mala and have just started with the Welsh Refugee Council. It feels great because it’s useful to the community and it’s a way of giving back something.
“I enjoyed the trip to Coventry very much, especially meeting people from other City of Sanctuary groups and listening to what they are doing and intend to do. It’s a really good thing for Swansea to become a City of Sanctuary – I am very proud. And Swansea deserves this recognition because people are so friendly and welcoming here.”
On 17th May 2010 Swansea became the UK’s 2nd (and Wales’ 1st) official ‘City of Sanctuary’, meeting all of the criteria set by the national City of Sanctuary network for this prestigious status.
Over the last two years Swansea’s City of Sanctuary initiative has gathered the support of 105 local organisations, including faith communities, small businesses, South Wales Police and South Wales Evening Post. The City and Council of Swansea also passed a unanimous resolution of support for the bid, and is working with the local City of Sanctuary group on ways to implement this throughout local government.
The decision to grant Swansea official recognition as a City of Sanctuary was made at a national meeting of representatives from City of Sanctuary initiatives around the UK on Monday 17th May.
We will have a major launch and celebration event in Swansea on 21st June.
An article by Phil Broadhurst
(Shop Manager, Oxfam, Castle Street, Swansea)
What I like about the various initiatives in Swansea set up by local people to help welcome and support asylum seekers in the city is the air of positivity around it all.
This is not an anti-racist (though obviously it is!) or an anti-government (though sometimes it might be) campaign of dogma and depressed backs-to-the-wall resistance. This is a pro-active and positive statement of beliefs. It is not a political statement (though it can be) ; it is a simple message of welcome and friendship.
In this movement there are not “Local Campaigners and Asylum Seekers”. There are just friends and neighbours working together to improve their community.
Swansea Bay Asylum Seekers Support Group have been at the forefront of this, with their regular Drop-In centres on a Friday evening and Saturday afternoon. As you walk in to these Drop-Ins, there are often small pockets of people asking for advice on their asylum case, but mainly it’s just a centre where in one room children play while in another room their parents chat.
Food, music, dancing
and activities for the children
Saturday, December 12th 2009
Swansea Museum (old Museum)
From 7pm-10pm
Transport reimbursed
Childcare provided
Please book your place
Rosemary 07966581243
Amel 07722415879
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