Refugee Week is a UK-wide festival celebrating the contributions, creativity, and resilience of refugees and people seeking sanctuary.

Through a programme of arts, cultural, sports, and educational events alongside media and creative campaigns, Refugee Week enables people from different backgrounds to connect.

Refugee Week’s vision is for refugees and asylum seekers to be able to live safely within inclusive and resilient communities, where they can continue to make a valuable contribution.

The theme of Refugee Week 2021 is: ‘We Cannot Walk Alone’.

Here in the UK and across the world today, we know that it is only by coming together that we will move forward. That when we choose to walk side by side, to share networks and resources, or make space for others to lead, we create deeper and longer-lasting change than is possible alone.

Refugee Week is an umbrella festival, and anyone can get involved by holding or joining an event or activity. Refugee Week events happen in all kinds of different spaces and range from arts festivals, exhibitions, film screenings, and museum tours to football tournaments, public talks, and activities in schools.

May 7^th marks the day when Unity in Diversity started helping its members by collecting and distributing clothes. Currently, the clothing bank is operating from a church in Sketty.

All the things donated to the clothing bank are sorted out and then delivered by UiD volunteers. UiD tries to reach out to its members in need either individually by asking what they need or utilizes the private group chat where members can pick what they need based on what is available at that moment. UiD can provide anything from children’s clothes, adult clothing, kitchen & home items or toys!

A big thank you for her hard work in this project goes to Adella! Adella was the one who started this clothing bank and worked tirelessly to keep it going through the Coronavirus outbreak.

And thank you to all the volunteers who help with sorting out and delivering the goods to the members!

Happy anniversary!

‘Best teacher in the UK’, that is the quote from one of the students from Intermediate English classes taught by Neil. The classes happen every week, still online for now and any member of UiD community is welcome to join and expand their English language skills.

Online teaching comes with many challenges including technical difficulties or problems with accessing teaching material, however, Neil has years of experience teaching online and knows how to engage the students, and how to keep them entertained while presenting new vocabulary or grammar.

Neil uses various online resources to teach grammar, vocabulary or just to check understating of the topic, making sure that the students get an opportunity to be heard and express their opinions.

Neil’s classes are very interactive, with student’s input being taken very seriously and incorporated into the teaching material. Chat is always on, used to introduce vocabulary or just a keep casual conversation going. Students are encouraged to talk among themselves and express their feeling about anything in the class.

Unity in Diversity is happy to provide help with English to anyone who is interested. Feel free to sign up for one of our Entry Level or Intermediate English classes by contacting David at jendave.browell@gmail.com.

Even in these unprecedented times Unity in Diversity is trying its best to help asylum seekers and refugees in the Swansea area. One of the activities are weekly English classes- happening online the restrictions are eased.

This year’s teacher for Entry level classes is Heidi- a wonderful 3^rd-year student from Swansea University, studying English and TESOL. Heidi has successfully completed the CELTA course and is now a certified teacher!

She teaches and Entry level online class once a week, tutoring students who signed up and are willing to take the first steps in the hard process of language learning. Sometimes, teaching Entry Level students can be hard but Heidi has sufficient knowledge and experience to help her with lesson planning, adapting, and figuring out the needs of her students. Even though she misses in-person teaching, she is excited to meet new students and introduce them to the foundations of English Language through Zoom. So far, she is thoroughly enjoying her time with the students and is happy to be a part of UiD community.

Unity in Diversity is happy to provide help with English to anyone who is interested. Feel free to sign up for one of our Entry Level or Intermediate English classes by contacting David at jendave.browell@gmail.com.

When Wales came to stop on 20^th December 2020 with full lockdown once again Unity in Diversity did not stop with its activities and carried on with spreading positivity. A new goal was set: to still make December a magical time of the year for everyone, especially for the members of the UiD community.

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These amazing gift bags provided by donations from various organisations served as Christmas present for over 450 people at over 120 addresses. So, a massive thank you goes to Sketty Uniting Church, Gellionnen Unitarian Church and the Hay, Brecon and Talgarth Sanctuary for Refugees and without 60 food hampers donated by Parklands Church, Sketty. Your generosity is astonishing!

The present were distributed by UiD trustees and volunteers, with one of them dressed very thematically to cheer up anyone passing by, and to bring the essence of Christmas to every household visited. Even though Christmas 2020 proved to be different and challenging compared to other years, there is a light at the end of every tunnel and year 2020 ended on a light-hearted and good note for Unity in Diversity.

Photos by Viv Collis 

Instagram: @vivcollisphoto

Website: vivcollisphotography.com