Action West London is part of a wider project which sees organisations from London and other parts of the UK support refugees. Our participation in the project started in 2017, and since then we have engaged with over 250 refugee participants from Africa, Europe and the Middle East.
When thinking of the terminology, a refugee is a displaced person, someone who had a very serious reason for fleeing his or her native country, reason which can be war, natural disasters, persecution on religious grounds or for any other motif. There are millions of displaced people in the world and many more choose every day to leave their native countries behind to find safety. The UN Refugee Agency states that 18,519 people were offered protection in the UK in the year June 2018 – June 2019. Of these, 25% (or 4,563) were children.
Our work makes a difference.
Our roles let us support people who are most in need, enable them to integrate better, discover things they didn’t know before and feel more confident and hopeful. Each case is unique- we can help a single mother apply for a NINo for herself and open a bank account one day, and later register her children with school and Colleges. We can help a young man compose his CV, submit job applications and prepare for his first UK job interview. We will deliver ESOL classes (English for Speakers of Other Languages) and give our students the linguistic tools they need to speak and feel independent. We can interpret for a newly arrived Arabic speaking client when she is doing her benefit application at the job centre or her housing papers at the local Council. We will encourage our participants to believe in themselves, have hope and strength, as they show more resilience and compassion than we have seen before.
Our jobs make us realise how fortunate we are. Every single day.
We work hard to make sure our participants feel happy and supported. We work in partnership with local businesses to find people jobs, we work with other Refugee organisations to place people into housing, jobs or courses, we have excellent relationships with the local authority and Colleges. We are proud to be a part of the solution and make a difference in the community!
Working West London Project is funded by the Community Fund and the European Social Fund and supports unemployed refugees across the seven West London Boroughs.