On the 18th of October 2022, ACTION ASYLUM, a project that connects asylum seekers to local volunteering projects, was launched as a national project at the House of Commons in Westminster. At Work Better Innovations, we would like to congratulate our Director of Community Engagement, Mrs. Anita David, for coordinating the pilot in Portsmouth with Portsmouth City of Sanctuary.
Thanks to the overwhelming success of ACTION ASYLUM in pilot cities, the scheme has now been adopted nationally with a 400k funding from the National Lottery.
ACTION ASYLUM participants organize and take part in collective beach-cleans tree-planting, gardening and other conservation initiatives. They have also been helping in charity shops and other community projects.
In Portsmouth, the project was supported and greatly appreciated by the Portsmouth community, including project colloborators, such as Sustrans, Friends Without Borders, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth City Council and many other local organisations.
[ACTION ASYLUM volunteers after a successful beach clean-up. Photo courtesy of @PompeySanctuary ]
[ACTION ASYLUM volunteers from Iran, Sudan, Iraq, Cameroon, Turkey, Nigeria and Eel Salvador planted 1200 whips and 40 saplings as part of the Platinum Jubilee programme. Photo courtesy of @PompeySanctuary ]
Why does the work of ACTION ASYLUM matter?
ACTION ASYLUM empower participants to be active community members and helps to remove the stigma faced by refugees and asylum seekers worldwide. Migrants can actively contribute to improving the quality of local areas.
In Portsmouth, ACTION ASYLUM participants were involved in beach clean-ups, planting trees, litter picking in the marshes and parks, helping at vaccination clinics, libraries, participating in University of Portsmouth projects and supporting food projects and community events throughout the city.
Due to the current legal system, asylum seekers cannot seek employment while awaiting approval on their visas, which can take many years. The prolonged wait can have negative consequences on people’s mental health. It also can make it harder to find employment afterwards — a wide gap on a CV often does not bode well with recruiters.
This is where ACTION ASYLUM can come in to make a positive impact by offering refugees and asylum seekers a temporary solution to be productive members in their local communities and stay active.
One of ACTION ASYLUM’s volunteers, Nusirat from Nigeria, gave a moving speech at the Westminster launch, sharing how much the project meant to her. She particularly emphasised the advantages of volunteering on her mental wellbeing.
“Thank you to the ACTION ASYLUM team for giving me the opportunity of being one of the volunteers, with the involvement in beach cleaning, tree-planting and also helping out in the library. Meeting my local residents, coming to the library for book collections and returns, tidying up and book shelving, has really helped with my mental wellbeing and it has also increased my self-confidence. It has taken me out of the idleness, lonelineless, and thinking, which could lead to depression. I am so proud to be part of this project. Thank you!”
[ACTION ASYLUM volunteer and Work Better Innovations’ Job Preparation for Migrants’ Workshop, Nusirat, takes the stage to share her inspiring thoughts on ACTION ASYLUM. Screenshot from a video by Director of Community Engagement, Anita David]
Nusirat attended our previous Job Preparation Workshops, as she is looking forward to getting her leave to remain in the UK and permission to start working. Nusirat has been taking every opportunity to up-skill her-self by attending English language classes at the City of Portsmouth College and counselling courses at the Workers’ Educational Association (WEA). Her dream job is to be a Mental Health nurse for the NHS.
Nusirat’s speech encapsulates perfectly the sheer impact of the ACTION ASYLUM project on the lives of asylum seekers in the UK. The activities undertaken by the group generate a positive ripple effect spreading from the participants’ sense of wellbeing to the improvement of the local area.
