Refugee Support Day in Birmingham, UK

Refugee Support Day. Teaching craft activities to refugee women and children.

Birmingham, UK. August 2016.

I have been supporting the excellent work of Restore, a refugee-support and advocacy organisation and project of Birmingham Churches Together, for many years. Restore’s Project Coordinator, Shari Brown, is a good friend who has worked tirelessly since the organisation’s inception, devoting much of her life to helping those who have come to our city in need of love, care and compassion. Shari has spoken twice at our Women’s Peace Meeting, resulting in a number of women wanting to get involved with Restore, particularly in befriending refugee families.

I have also taken part each year, for the past 7 or 8 years, in the annual Summer event where refugee women and children are given the opportunity to enjoy themselves in a nice location in the suburbs of Birmingham, and where a variety of activities are provided including my teaching them craft and card-making skills. Some of the women are so creative and need little help to make beautiful cards which they can keep, or use in sending them to friends

This year I was accompanied and helped by a WFWP friend, Lisa from South Africa, and we were blessed with lovely weather, and could spend most of the time out of doors in the extensive grounds of a Catholic church. There is nice food, a bouncy castle and other activities for the children, and the chance to make new friends from Africa, the Middle East, etc. It can be quite a ‘tiring’ day, but full of rich rewards, especially in

seeing families who cannot afford a holiday having the opportunity to thoroughly enjoy themselves. I think all the photographs speak for themselves!

Patricia Earle