As we see more Community Sponsorship groups investing in properties in which they can welcome a refugee family, one group have navigated this by gathering a group of investors and setting up a Declaration of Trust. This is by no means the easiest route of securing a property, but nonetheless, this is exactly what Paul…
Articles tagged with: Experts by Experience
Experts by Experience: Community Sponsorship
As part of our Experts by Experience platform, we interviewed Ghazala and her family who were resettled to the UK through Community Sponsorship. Watch the below video to hear them talk about their experience of resettling to the UK and the importance of Community Sponsorship. WARNING: This video contains flashing lights. Viewer discretion is advised.
Experts by Experience: Ghazala and Nidal’s first 6 months
Families can be waiting for resettlement for many years, so it’s understandable to hear that Ghazala and Nidal could not believe it when they were told they were going to be resettled to the UK! They shared with us their time and experience of living in the UK, speaking on what their first 6 months…
Experts by Experience: Kadar on getting a driving license
Having a car can be integral to a family’s independence, especially in areas where public transport is limited. However, obtaining a UK driving license can be a challenging and lengthy process. The UK has one of the most difficult theory tests in the world. This is even more demanding if English is not your first…
Experts by Experience: Nour’s experience of life and education in the UK
We sat down to speak with Nour, a student who was resettled to the UK with his family. In our interview with him, Nour speaks on his experience of coming to the UK shortly before the first Covid-19 lockdown, the differences in schooling in the UK compared to the Middle East, and his future aspirations….
Experts by Experience: Rawasia and her experience of resettlement
Navigating resettlement as a teenager can be full of extremely difficult challenges, including losing friends, losing your education and losing your home. On top of this, you are contending with starting a new life in a host country you may not feel at home in, or feel wanted in. This has been Rawasia’s experience, one…
Experts by Experience: Resettlement as a single parent
Making the journey firstly from your home country to a host country, and then to another country via resettlement, is a hard undertaking for any family – and one that becomes even more difficult as a single parent. The reassurance there is in being able to turn to your partner in such a situation, and…
Experts by Experience: Zahir and Lena on settling into a rural community
Having now lived in the UK for over two years, Zahir and Lena sat down to talk with us about how their family have settled into a rural community, one which now feels like home. They spoke to us about their experience of leaving Syria, the hardship of rebuilding their lives in Jordan, and the…
Expert by Experience: Seeking support for your wellbeing (Arabic/English)
A video developed by IOM about the value of seeking mental health / wellbeing support.
Experts by Experience – a call for Experts!
We know that the true experts in community led welcome are those who have welcomed, and those who have been welcomed. For this reason, we’re looking to grow the work we do with refugees, who are Experts by Experience. An Expert by Experience is someone who has lived experience of the issues they’re discussing and…
Experts by Experience: Mohammed’s 5 tips for learning English quickly
Mohammed attended school in Syria until year 11 when he and his family members were displaced to Egypt due to the war. In school in Syria, he started studying English around year five or six but since it wasn’t his favourite subject, he made slow progress. Although he would have liked to improve his language…
Experts by Experience: Abdullah’s driving tips
Abdullah arrived in the UK as a Syrian refugee in 2017 with only a few words of English and was welcomed by the CHARIS Community Sponsorship Group in the South West. 10 months later, he had passed his theory and practical driving tests, giving him vital independence and freedom. When he arrived in the UK,…
Experts by Experience: accessing volunteering opportunities
For the refugees you support, volunteering can present an opportunity for them to build new relationships outside of your Community Sponsorship Group. Volunteering can provide invaluable work experience and also enable people to build confidence and improve language skills. As an expert by experience, Abdullah has also written a message for refugees who might be…
Experts by Experience: Adjusting to the English education system
As part of our Experts by Experience project, we interviewed Khadeja who was resettled to North Devon in 2017 with her husband and three young children, about her and her children’s experience in adjusting to the English education system. In addition to this resource, Khadeja has produced a guide to the English education system for newly arrived parents…
Experts by Experience: Khadeja’s resettlement experience
One question that we’re often asked in Reset’s Community Sponsorship training sessions is: “What do refugees think their life in the UK will be like before they’re resettled?” We usually answer these questions with a range of anecdotes but with a strong reminder that refugees will have a breadth of opinions, worldviews and expectations of…
Experts by Experience: property investment
When it comes to finding a property for a refugee family, it can feel like an insurmountable obstacle to overcome given the lack of affordable housing in the UK. We’ve seen how groups have been creative in meeting this housing challenge; some are able to find compassionate landlords who are willing to rent below the…
Experts by Experience: setting up your own business
Setting up their own business is the ambition of many refugees welcomed to the UK. While route to entrepreneurship isn’t easy or short, it is also far from impossible as demonstrated by Basel. We met with him on Zoom to talk about his business – ZR Tiling Services, his passion for his work, the support he…
Experts by Experience: Starting at a new school
As part of our Experts by Experience platform, we interviewed Ghazala and her family who were resettled to the UK through Community Sponsorship. Watch the below video to hear them talk about their experience of starting a new school. WARNING: This video contains flashing lights. Viewer discretion is advised. Preparing Families for the British education system…
Experts by Experience: The maternity experience of a Syrian mother
Giving birth in a country where you are unfamiliar with the systems and processes, where you don’t speak the language, and where you aren’t surrounded by family and friends is a daunting experience for any family. Mirvat, who was resettled to the UK in 2021 through Community Sponsorship, sat down with us to talk through…
Experts by Experience: The village that welcomed a family
“It just felt like something that would be real in the increasingly strange, abstracted, times of lockdown; that it would make a tangible and potentially profound difference to the life-prospects of whoever the refugees were and possibly (selfishly?!) that it might also be a positive thing for me” The group started out with Tom, an…
Experts by Experience: Abdullah’s resettlement experience
One question that we’re often asked in Reset’s Community Sponsorship training sessions is: “What do refugees think their life in the UK will be like before they’re resettled?” We usually answer these questions with a range of anecdotes but with a strong reminder that refugees will have a breadth of opinions, worldviews and expectations of…