November 2021

48
Wanstead Village Directory
Welcome, back
Eleanor Taylor was part of a group that welcomed a Syrian refugee family
to Wanstead earlier this year. As that family continue to enjoy a safer
and happier life, there are now many Afghans in need of similar help
The recent end of UK operations in
Afghanistan meant we all saw heartbreaking
footage of families who had
worked with the UK-backed government,
women in positions of power, translators
and interpreters, joining the scramble to
board flights to safety. Many of us watching
wondered how we might be able to directly
assist families to start a new life in a place
of safety.
© European Union/Mallika Panorat
The UK government recently released details
of the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme,
which will help to relocate some of these
families to the UK. In part, the scheme will
rely on local authorities to accommodate and
resettle families, but the programme will also
have a voluntary element. This means all of us
in Wanstead and surrounding communities
can help Afghan refugee families start a new
life, through support and donations, but
especially through Community Sponsorship.
The scheme will work in the same way as
that which helped a group of us to welcome
a Syrian refugee family to Wanstead in
early 2021.
Our Community Sponsorship journey began
in 2019 when a group of volunteers were put
in touch by local churches, formed Refugee
Welcome Wanstead and applied to the Home
Office to support a family for their first two
years in the UK. The goal of the project is
to support a family towards developing
the skills and knowledge needed to live an
independent life after their two years with us.
The application process involved fundraising,
sourcing suitable accommodation and
liaison with the council and other local
service providers. We were then matched
to a registered refugee family by the United
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and
the International Organisation for Migration,
considering property size, additional needs,
and existing links or language compatibility
with the host country.
We are currently six months into working
with our family, with support from the
charity Reset UK, and they are progressing
remarkably well. This scheme has helped
hundreds of Syrian refugees in the UK, and
similar schemes worldwide have enabled
thousands of vulnerable refugees to flee the
Syrian conflict.
It is clear that, in the coming months, the
need for volunteers who can help to support
a family fleeing the Taliban’s takeover in
Afghanistan will be greater than ever. There
are lots of ways you can help to welcome
Afghan refugees to safety. If you would like
to hear more about our experience working
directly through the Community Sponsorship
scheme, please get in touch.
To help welcome an Afghan refugee
family, visit wnstd.com/reset
For more information about
Refugee Welcome Wanstead, visit
wnstd.com/welcome
To advertise, call 020 8819 6645 or visit wnstd.com