Blog Archives
Cradoc primary school welcomes over 50 people seeking asylum/refuge
‘This was not a just a gesture but a practical demonstration of solidarity and love for those in need.’ Over 30 Cradoc School pupils came to school on Sunday 29th January to help Hay, Brecon and Talgarth Sanctuary for Refugees (HBTSR) to welcome 55 people seeking asylum or refuge in Swansea to Cradoc School for…
Llangorse Respite Trip
On Sunday 10th July, asylum seekers and refugees living in the Swansea area were made very welcome in and around the Llangors lake area in Powys on a wonderful respite trip facilitated by Hay, Brecon and Talgarth Sanctuary for refugees (HBTS4R) and their incredibly kind supporters.
This is the ninth respite trip provided by HBTS4R since last December. These trips are very popular indeed and a vital break for those on the fringes of society who are limited in what activities they can do whilst experiencing high levels of anxiety due to waiting prolonged periods of time for Home Office decisions. Reactions and feedback from such trips are always of immense gratitude for being made so welcome in such amazingly beautiful places and the great activities provided.
We offer many thanks to all those that made this such a fantastic day for everyone involved;
- Hay, Brecon and Talgarth Sanctuary for Refugees for devising such programs and their kind ongoing support.
- Ty Mawr Lime for hosting
- Kirsty Willimas Am, Cllr Mel Davies and Ex Mp Roger Williams for showing solidarity
- Brecon Food bank, Morrisons Brecon, Aldi Brecon and COOP Brecon for donations of food and countless individual donations of food and toiletries [mostly anonymous].
- Llangorse Multi Activity Centre for showing the beaver sanctuary
- Llyn Safaddan and Beacons Benefice [for toiletries and cakes]
- Llangorse Youth & Community Centre for hosting the day so ably coordinated by Melrose East.
- Llangorse church in Wales school for messages of welcome.
- The kind volunteers from Swansea bay Asylum Seeker Support Group and Unity in Diversity for coming along and helping out.
Maria (SBASSG) speaks for us all in her feedback on the day.
I am writing on behalf of all of us (asylum seekers, refugees and volunteers) who benefited from your hospitality at Ty Mawr and Llangorse yesterday. We all had a wonderful time. I think it is the people who see our friends on a weekly basis that really notice a difference in their demeanour on a day like this. I don’t think I had ever seen one particular man smile before, his wife and children, one of whom he has never seen, are in his home country. He smiled and laughed yesterday and said to me that he was “feeling ok today”. What a testament to what you are doing. Another man who had only been in Swansea for two weeks and can speak virtually no English, found a fellow ‘countryman’ who was keen to help him, having been in his position before. There was a lot of ‘signposting’ going on, which is invaluable. Your kindness is so appreciated, but it is difficult for our friends to express this. We hear snippets of conversation on the way home about the delicious food, the kind people, the beautiful countryside and the peace. They ALL want to come again, most want to live near Brecon now! There was obviously an enormous amount of work and effort put in to organising and catering for such an event, but all I can say is that it was worth it. Exhausted from fresh air and exercise, full of wholesome food and clutching bags of gifts – 50+ people went home very happy yesterday. Thank you one and all.
Maria & Co
Many thanks from the folks at UiD for the kind donations brought back from our trip 🙂
Click Here to see how you can easily make ‘free’ donations to UiD when shopping at your favourite on-line stores.
Free English Classes at Swansea University – July 2016
Posted on behalf of Swansea University’s ELTS department
Dear Swansea Community Members
ELTS offers free English Language Classes to any non-native speaker of English in the local area at Pre-intermediate level or above via our Teacher Training programme. There does not need to be any connection to the University.
The basic details are below:
Free English Language Classes
Monday 4th July to Friday 29th July 2016
Monday to Friday 10:00 a.m. – 12:00
Classes at three levels: pre-intermediate, intermediate, and upper-intermediate.
We will hold drop-in registration sessions for new students as follows:
Thursday 30th June and Friday 1st July
Margam Building 3rd Floor 9-3pm
Students with additional queries should contact:
p.l.neville@swansea.ac.uk or e.main@swansea.ac.uk
While we try to accommodate all who wish to attend, pre-registered students will have priority if numbers reach our class limits.
Please encourage any non-native speaker of English who you feel could benefit from classes to attend, and distribute this information to any suitable person inside or outside the university. The classes are a good mix of international students, and they will be made very welcome.
I regret that we are not able to reimburse travel expenses.
Many thanks
Peter Neville
ELTS Swansea University
The Active Voice. By Sarah Reynolds
Unity in Diversity had a visit from Sarah Reynolds who spent some time talking to folks and getting to know about the work we do with an aim of writing an article about us. She informs us that the article will be published and we keenly await to see it.
Stay Tuned!!!
Food Safety Coaching – Keeping Equipment Separate
Another wonderful turnout for second lesson in Food safety Coaching, 34 people! This lesson focused on using separate equipment in the kitchen. It was great hear the learners using important vocabulary and ideas from our previous lesson. This clearly demonstrates that the areas we have covered have been retained and we are now able to move on to other areas effectively.
Please see our slideshow for the lesson presentation and learning materials.
Food Safety Coaching – Hand-Washing
We are very happy to report that our first session in Food Safety Coaching went very well last night with 30 keen participants present. This session focused on effective hand-washing when planning to handle food. Please see the slideshow for details and information on the following 6 sessions on this course.
Click Here for Full-Screen View of the Slideshow
Click Here for Full-Screen View of the Slideshow
Welcome to Swansea Mentoring Project
The Welcome to Swansea scheme is a brand new project which aims to provide a warm welcome to sanctuary seekers when they first arrive in Swansea.
Sanctuary seekers will be met by a volunteer mentor who will introduce them to places, people and groups. The purpose of the scheme is to promote integration and ensure that sanctuary seekers are able to meet their aspirations in their new home.
We are looking for volunteers. If you feel you’ve got what it takes to make a crucial difference at a pivotal point in someone’s life then please contact us.
We will be holding training sessions for volunteer mentors at the following times and places:
- Thursday 6th August 9:30am -1:30pm. Swansea Council for Voluntary Service (see map)*
- Tuesday 11th August. 4:30pm to 6pm. Unity in Diversity Swansea (see map)
- Tuesday 13th August. 4:30pm to 6pm. Unity in Diversity Swansea (see map)
- Tuesday 1st September. 9:30am -1:30pm. Swansea Council for Voluntary Service (see map)*
* bus fares refunded for these sessions
Please contact Hannah to sign up or to find out more.
Email: hannah@dpia.org.uk
Phone: 07496 172896
About Us
The “Welcome to Swansea” project started in 2015 and is part of the City of Sanctuary movement. The staff are employed by Displaced People in Action.
We aim to welcome refugees and asylum seekers and promote their well-being.
What does a mentor do?
A mentor is a trained volunteer who supports people to access the things that they want and need to be doing. For instance they might:
- Demonstrate bus routes.
- Show affordable places to shop.
- Give information on health and social care services.
- Support people to find social and leisure activities.
- Support people to find training and volunteering opportunities.
The mentoring process aims to support a person to become as independent as possible. The relationship is a short, but powerful one.
Could you give someone a warm Swansea welcome?
If so then why not become a volunteer mentor?
Mentors provide a crucial service at an important time in people’s lives. Many asylum seekers who arrive in Swansea may not know the place, systems…and most importantly the people. Having a friendly face to provide a welcome can make all the difference.
Who can become a mentor?
Anyone can become a mentor. We particularly welcome applications from people who have experience of seeking sanctuary or who live in areas close to Sanctuary seekers.
We do ask for some skills and attributes which are outlined in the role description.
What does it cost?
Nothing! The project is free to volunteers. We will also pay for bus fares and other expenses when you are volunteering with us.
The greatest good you can do for another is not just share your riches, but reveal to him his own.
Benjamin Disraeli
How do I get involved?
If you would like to get involved or find out more then please contact us. We will be very happy to talk to you.
What is involved?
The project involves 3 stages:
- Initial induction and training period: Where we find out a bit about you and tell you about the scheme.
- Regular sessions with a participant: There will usually be between 2 and 8 sessions. They usually last 2-4 hours each.
- An evaluation session: to see how useful it has been and how we can improve.
We offer you the opportunity to mentor as often as you like.
Contact Us:
Our Swansea office is at SCVS (see map). Please feel free to drop in and see us!
Contact
Email: hannah@dpia.org.uk
Web: http://swansea.cityofsanctuary.org/
Phone: 07821 629673
(If you send us a text or email then we can call you back)
Downloadable/Printable Information
Support Services – Digital Directory under construction
Using the Swansea City of Sanctuary’s 2013 directory of services we are trying to make a digital map that will hopefully contain all the previous info and more. It is a work in progress.
Please provide me with relevant services to add and if there are any important changes that need to be made please let me know. wayneyare@gmail.com
Unity in Diversity 