News
CWR are continually active in Cheltenham, and there’s always something new going on! Here’s a couple of highlights of events and campaigns we’ve been running recently.
If you’d like to find out more about our work, and stay updated over email, there’s even more information available with our monthly newsletter. Subscribers are considered CWR members, and are eligible to vote in our annual general meeting on changes in policy.
our festive fundraiser has launched - get involved!
Cheltenham is wonderfully welcoming to refugees and people seeking asylum and refugees. Last year, you put lovingly packed Christmas gifts to give to people seeking asylum and their children! You gave a total of 70 Christmas boxes that our elves handed out to people in the week before Christmas.
This year, we are seeing that the needs are much more basic. People need underwear, socks and shoes without holes in them. Many of you kindly donated second-hand coats and clothes, which have made a huge difference! This fundraiser is to buy what can’t donated, like underwear, shoes and socks.
Will you help us by chipping into clothing vouchers? Every pound will help.
Go to our Festive Fundraiser crowdfunder page to donate.
Thank you!!!
volunteer lauren wyllie discusses her placement with cwr for her university assignment
CWR Volunteer Lauren Wyllie, is a student at University of Gloucestershire, studying History and Religious Studies. She undertook a placement volunteering with Cheltenham Welcomes Refugees and has reflected on her experience as part of her coursework. We’re grateful to her for sharing her time and energy volunteering with us and for permission to publish her essay here.
lift the ban coalition
CWR has joined the Lift the Ban Coalition.
Most people seeking refugee status are banned from working whilst waiting months – or years - for a decision on their asylum claim. At a time when many businesses are struggling to recruit, there is a case for removing this ban and allowing people to work.
#LiftTheBan aims to ensure that people seeking safety in the UK have the right to work.
Without work, claimants are allowed only £6.43 per day, for food, clothing, toiletries and travel. Those in hotels which provide food, can receive £1.30 per day.
As the cost of living has rapidly increased, asylum seekers are forced into poverty. This has an obvious detrimental impact on their physical and mental health.
Allowing people to work would mean they can contribute to society, offering much needed skills and hard work, helping our economy to grow as well as paying taxes. It would be win-win situation for local businesses and for people claiming asylum.
Cheltenham is officially a Town of Sanctuary, welcoming refugees and asylum seekers. CWR offers support from the moment they arrive.
Businesses wishing to support the #LiftTheBan campaign, can register their support here.
write to your mp about the government’s latest anti-asylum plans - this cruelty must stop
The Government has just presented planned legislation designed to stop people arriving in small boats from claiming asylum. The Home Secretary and Prime Minister are stressing that this is what the public want. Well, maybe not!
We encourage CWR supporters to write to your MPs telling them how you feel about this new anti-asylum bill.
We know that MPs are less impressed by identically worded messages so we urge you to write your own message - however brief.
But you might like to consider the following points:
Even the Home Secretary has acknowledged the legislation may not be lawful
Although ruthless people smugglers need to stopped, you don't do this by criminalising their victims
The majority of people fleeing conflict do not have access to "safe routes". The limited number of "safe routes" help very small numbers of people
The vast majority of people claiming asylum receive a positive decision
The reasons the numbers of asylum seekers in the UK is currently so high is as much to do with the painfully slow and inefficient decision-making process as it is to do with new arrivals.
More information is available from the Refugee Council.
(10 March 2023)
Greetings from a friend
We have a weekly hub for asylum seekers at the Friends Meeting House. The Quakers kindly offer us their home for this hub. In January, we had a surprise visit from a former visitor who has since been moved from Cheltenham to a new location by the Home Office.
He presented CWR and the Quakers with this painting as a thank you for being so welcoming when he arrived in the UK. His painting references his past through Eritrean national colours and his native language Tigrinya. Equally, English appears, the language of his new home country.
We were all deeply moved. The Friends Meeting House is truly the house where friends meet.
cheltenham welcome refugees - parkrun takeover
On Saturday 28th January the kind team at the Cheltenham parkrun let us do second “charity take-over”. We brought ten marshals who helped with the free 5km run around Pittville Park and handed out sweets and bananas to runners at the end of the course. A handful of brave supporters ran the course for us in our vests! We had great conversations with many who agree with us that those seeking safety in Cheltenham should be welcomed. It was lovely to speak to so many who wanted to know more about CWR, the context for asylum seekers and refugees in Cheltenham and how to get involved.
our 2022 christmas box appeal has launched
Christmas boxes appeal poster
We are appealing for about 60 Christmas boxes for adult men seeking asylum in Cheltenham. We have also joined forces with local schools and community groups to provide boxes for the women and children we support. For many people, Christmas will be spent in a hotel room far from friends and family. We want to help everybody in Cheltenham going through the long and difficult asylum process feel a little joy and welcome over the festive season.
Well Done Andy! BBC Radio Gloucestershire Volunteer Finalist
We’re so proud to see Andy Kirby, CWR volunteer, recognised for his work organising football training and games for asylum seekers and refugees in Cheltenham, as well as his work supporting the Hub and providing translation services when needed. He’s a star!
Watch the clip below (from minute 1.12) to see the BBC video of Andy’s work with CWR. Congratulations Andy and thank you to all our Hub and football volunteers!
refugee week 2022: We welcomed the walk with amal to cheltenham!
We had an amazing Refugee Week 2022 full of activities based around this year’s theme of ‘healing’. We were over-the-moon to welcome Little Amal to Cheltenham as part of Refugee Week. Read about Amal’s incredibly exciting visit to Cheltenham here.
CWR’S STATEMENT ON THE UK GOVERNMENT’S CRUEL PLAN TO SEND ASYLUM SEEKERS TO RWANDA
The UK Government has entered into an agreement with the Government of Rwanda, to immediately deport migrants and asylum seekers arriving in the UK after long and often harrowing journeys.
Read our full statement opposing this atrocious policy here.
meet camille cowe
Camille Cowe is Head of Community Arts at the Everyman Theatre in Cheltenham. She is one of CWR’s longest standing and most dedicated supporters. The work that she does as part of CWR is an amazing example of what we can achieve to support, celebrate and lift up those who join our community seeking refuge. A lot of her work is behind the scenes and not well-known amongst our wider supporters so we are taking the opportunity here to share just some of the reasons why she is an integral part of our community.
action for afghanistan
We’ve had several enquiries over the past week about the emerging Afghan resettlement program and what people can do to help make a difference.
The good news is that action is in progress - Cheltenham Borough Council has announced they’ll be providing seven homes for families, with a countywide target of thirty-five in total. Private landlords can also offer to get involved in the scheme and would be most welcome.
If you’d also like some suggestions of ways to help out, we’ve compiled a webpage with ideas and campaigns here.
Good Chance Theatre’s journey to creatively raise awareness of displacement
On Wednesday, 9 June 2021, CWR was joined by sisters Naomi Webb, Executive Director of Good Chance Theatre, and Emily Webb, Head of Poetry at Good Chance Theatre.
They spoke about Good Chance Theatre’s groundbreaking work with artists from across the world and the 8,000km journey of a 3.5 meter-tall puppet. We also welcomed Camille Cowe, Community Arts Manager of the Everyman Theatre, who has been leading the local work for the Walk with Amal in Cheltenham with many creative projects.
Watch the talk here
International-Book Giving Day
Following our collaboration with The Suffolk Anthology for International-Book Giving Day, we're really excited to update you with the news that over 50 books have been put on order to share with our refugee families!
It's really great to support independent Cheltenham businesses in these times of lockdown, while also bringing joy and enrichment to young children, so we've been so pleased to work with everyone on this. Thank you so so much for all your kind contributions.
We've been informed that we've completely wiped out the supply warehouse's stock of Arabic/English literature!! Thank you again everybody.
taking a new direction!
We recently held our annual general meeting with some exciting news - CWR is becoming a charity!
In many ways it won’t affect our operations in the slightest - a lot of our supporters are a bit surprised to find out we’re a constituted volunteer organisation rather than an ‘official’ charity - but it will massively improve our viable impact and outreach work so we can make a difference to more families. This will make a big difference given that it appears that local council resettlement schemes may well expand in coming months to include new countries.
You can check our Secretary and Treasurer’s reports for 2020 to see what we’ve been up to.
Inua Ellams reads ‘A Decision Filled With Colour: A Global Collective Poem For Our New Times’
This is a stunning and beautiful poem that is a collaboration from poets from 27 countries, including Iman, an immensely talented Syrian lady who now lives with us here in Cheltenham.
Some of you may remember Iman reciting her evocative and powerful poetry at our storytelling sessions in the past, and it’s absolutely wonderful to see her work reaching a wider audience and framed in a new light.
Working in partnership with Good Chance Theatre, and our incredible volunteers Emily and Rose, it’s moving and greatly uplifting to see such beautiful poetry created when so many strange things are happening.
Black Lives matter Cheltenham
CWR were recently invited to speak at a Black Lives Matter vigil, organised by the inimitable Shekinah Swamba, and in association with Lives of Colour.
Over 3000 people attended to hear speeches and music, and to kneel in solidarity to George Floyd, all while maintaining social distance.
It’s absolutely vital to take anti-racist action whoever we are and whatever we do - to do nothing is to be complicit, and Cheltenham Welcomes Refugees is proud to support local and national groups dismantling systemic bigotry and prejudice.
We’re in the process of producing more resources to address these issues - please keep an eye out for updates.
Refugees at home - developing a local network
We’re in the process of starting some exciting work in collaboration with GARAS and Refugees at Home. Refugees at Home is a charity connecting people with a spare room in their home to asylum seekers and refugees in need of accommodation.
This accommodation might be needed for a single night, or a few months, but it gives life-changing support to people in deep need.
Cheltenham has a lot of scope for development in this area, and we’re starting to campaign for better provision. Could you be a host or an assessor?
eid party in cheltenham!
2019 saw our first ever Eid party! We were a little worried it might not take place at all, given the thunder and lightning showers we were experiencing on Friday... And even Saturday morning was drizzly and grey in true English fashion.
But thanks to the amazing planning and organisation of our volunteers, especially Hanan and Isabel, who rallied guests and appropriated a great spot directly in front of the Pittville Pump Rooms, as well as our guests - at least 100 people from at least 13 different countries turning up across the afternoon - we all had a brilliant time.
People shared some really delicious food: chicken with roasted almonds, tomato salad in zesty dressing, even a few boxes of pizza! And there was football and face-paint, tinsel and chocolate: all celebrating the end of Ramadan in togetherness.
We'd really like to thank the Barnwood Trust for their grant allowing us to buy a gazebo and supplies for the party - which you can see in the photo above. From Lebanon, Palestine, Yemen, Syria, Tunisia, Germany, Morocco, Iraq, Jordan, Algeria, Libya, Indonesia, and the United Kingdom: Eid Mubarak!
town of sanctuary
Cheltenham Borough Council has officially passed a motion to become a Town of Sanctuary!
The Cities of Sanctuary movement is a network of groups contributing towards a society that collectively welcomes refugees and asylum seekers, and helps them find the support they need to build new lives here.
Thanks to Cheltenham Borough Council for passing this motion, to Councillors Max Wilkinson and Angie Boyes for proposing it and seeing it through, and to all our followers and members who have given us amazing support through the last few years.