Sewing classes: a proven tool to fight loneliness

Loneliness and isolation is one of the biggest challenges that asylum seekers and refugees fight against when they come to the UK and settle in a country whose social, cultural and community systems work differently from those they are used to, back in their home countries. Cultural differences are usually underestimated and often taken for granted; misunderstandings arise easily. Simple gestures of friendship can be misinterpreted and can make people feel unable to bond with others - and increase the sense of loneliness. It is a vicious circle. Asylum seekers and refugees tend to avoid group activities and new experiences that might help them to increase their self-confidence and live more fulfilling lives.

2014 Kicks Off with a Slew of Activities

Thanks to Bamidele for telling us about the activities that have been keeping members of The Forum busy these last few months.

Recently, there have been a lot of heart-warming activities at The Forum, located at 2 Thorpe Close, Ladbroke Grove in West London, welcoming refugees and asylum seekers to London.

Among these activities are Poetry Group on Wednesdays and Cultural Fridays with Camila and the Evropska Duo (a talented classical violin duo) for live world music. But the most fascinating to me is poem and stories time, which is dished out to heartbroken and low-mood refugees and asylum seekers every Wednesday between 12 and 1 p.m.

I have enjoyed a lot of poems and stories from the co-ordinator and presenter of this incredible poetry group, Mr. Valentine, and I believe other people that have been attending have also had a good taste in the wonderful sixty minutes with him.

One of my most wonderful times spent was towards the beginning of this year, when I attended Poetry Group, and Eternity by William Blake was one of the first poems that has ever touched my heart.

Eternity by William Blake

He who binds himself to a joy

Does the winged life destroy;

But he who kisses the joy as it flies

Lives in eternity's sun rise

This four-line poem teaches us that human beings should not be expecting that life will be perfect and ideal; there is always a danger associated with constant joy. But anyone that takes life as it comes will definitely live longer and witness a good part of it.

Christmas and New Year's at The Forum:

Thanks to Volunteer Advisor Nyla for sharing with us this account of The Forum's uplifting holiday party: 

Monday, 16th December, 2013 was a joyous day at The Forum. We celebrated Christmas and New Year's together with our members, who joined us on this festive occasion. It was a day filled with fun, food and laughter, and also a brilliant choir performance from our music group. 

The choir was not restricted to the members of the music group, but all members of the Forum were welcome to join in and sing along with the band. Many people actually did join in, and it was really good to see them smiling and performing together. 

We also had a large variety of food and drinks, which everyone relished, as well as goody bags, as a thank you gesture for each member. It was a nice and warm atmosphere, where everyone was wishing each other well and getting to know each other better.

It was a great event that served as the perfect excuse to catch up with friends at The Forum, as well as to share happiness during this festive period of the year.

Please Join Us As We Launch The Refuge!

We warmly invite you to join us as we launch The Refuge.

Wednesday, October 2nd, 3:30 PM, The Forum.

Details follow. 

Introducing...The Refuge!

Thanks so much to Aabdeen for telling us all about the The Forum's special new project, The Refuge.

On Sunday, 15th September, I, along with other members of MRCF, decorated the office to run our new project, The Refuge. 

The Refuge is a safe space at our community centre in North Kensington, where migrants and refugees can come and relax, learn new skills, and discuss if they want to become volunteers. Members can gather here to practice social participation and inclusion, develop trust, and discuss ways to engage in active citizenship. 

On Sunday, I drew and painted a tree on the wall inside The Refuge. Instead of having apples on the branches, we decided to have photo frames to hang instead, which will have images of the different issues. 

I made small tables as well, from coffee beans and blue beads. To stick the beads and beans down, I first glued the table surface and then arranged the beans and beads in a pattern. I also painted part of one of the walls yellow and cream. There were a lot of books inside the room which we had to move outside, which automatically made the room look more spacious. 

Celebrating a Great Year of Activities!

Thanks to Niresha for sharing with us highlights of the June 22 end-of-the-year party.

On Saturday 22^nd June, MRCF held a party to celebrate our mentor and mentees’ achievements throughout the year. It was a great day filled with fun, food and laughter and great live performances from our music group. We awarded certificates to our mentors and mentees to recognise the great time and efforts they put into various activities throughout the year.

We had a really good turn out at the event with lots of MRCF faces turning up and enjoying the fun. It’s a shame that the weather wasn’t particularly great that day and we had to move our picnic indoors, but either way we made the best of the day and had a lot of fun.

The party marked the end of a great year of activities and wrapped them up in time for the summer break. We look forward to starting the activities again this September, such as music, maths and English classes, and sewing classes soon. Throughout the party, pictures were projected of some of the products our members had created, such as beautiful sequin dresses made in the sewing classes.

The musical entertainment went down a treat and brought big smiles and joy to everyone. It got everyone involved and singing along, and we also got to see some of our members’ dancing moves!

The whole event was a great catch up with friends at MRCF and was really enjoyable. After a nice summer break, we are looking forward to recommencing our activities and seeing the talents of our members unfold.

A Party To Celebrate Three Years Together

Thanks to Laura for these reflections on New Beginnings Mentoring's impressive first three years.

There is always a good reason to celebrate...especially if we talk about our achievements over the last three years! The New Beginnings project turned three years old and we celebrated it on 31st May. Many people gathered at The Forum to enjoy a fun day together with music, food and good memories. In front of an enthusiastic audience, our trained music group performed at Café Nova for the second time, playing a wide range of songs, from the Wizard of Oz soundtrack's “Over the Rainbow," to George Gershwin's “I Got Rhythm,” and The Sound of Music soundtrack's “Edelweiss,” when everybody stood up, chose a partner and started dancing together. The concert masterpiece was Aziza’s solo of “Ego,” a song composed and performed by herself with the choir as back-up. Very catchy and performed with passion, you couldn’t get its rhythm out of your head!

The party then moved to The Forum's office, where we enjoyed a lovely video put together by Milca and Martina on our activities and events over the last year. Interviews and photos followed, and you realized how people have benefitted and enjoyed every class, and how strong their bond is with The Forum and among each other. 

Some of their comments were:

The Circus Comes to The Forum!

Milca writes eloquently about her experience leading the Circus workshop during last week's Cultural Friday.

The circus has always been part of my life. I have practised different circus disciplines in a non-professional way since I was very little and, even if it never took first place in my everyday life, it was always following me. To me, as well as to the people that compose “my world,” the circus is something familiar, or at least known. So, understandably, the circus was the first thing I had in mind when I was told about the possibility of running a workshop for a Cultural Friday at MRCF. The premise was good: I had been working here as an intern for two months, so I already knew most of the participants. In addition, I had the chance to attend another Cultural Friday workshop, a very fascinating one about drawing run by Caspar. At the same time I had doubts: Will it look silly? Will they be bored? How does the activity have to be designed to appeal to people that have probably heard very little about the circus? I was keen to share with them a taste of something that has always been part of my life and filled me with perplexity at the same time.…

All my doubts disappeared from the beginning of the activity. What I am especially pleased about was the participants’ welcoming attitude towards me and the things I was presenting. The group was quite numerous - around fifteen people showed up and this made the atmosphere animated. We started off with a short informative part, during which I showed them some videos of contemporary performances, both by famous circus companies and by lesser-known “underground” artists. Then we developed a discussion arising from the individuals' knowledge, memories and experiences. Step-by-step, a clearer picture came up of circus being traditionally a travelling art, along with the different artists that might be found in a company - from acrobats to clowns, animal trainers, funambulists, and jugglers. 

After that we switched to a more practical activity, namely juggling. We started from the very preliminary step of making the juggling balls out of raw materials, such as flour, balloons, wire, tape, and elastic. It soon turned out to be not too easy to actually make these balls and it required a fair amount of patience from all of us. However, no one gave up! Some of the faster ones could proceed to the second phase and attached a wire to the balls to obtain bolas (sort of chains). Apart from myself - jumping around, passing around scissors and replacing broken balloons - the group was relaxed and curious. At that stage, not everybody was clear we were actually going to use the tools we made, so when I announced it, it sounded almost like a joke: “Do you want me to juggle?!”

A Frenzy of Activity Before the Summer Break

Thanks to Milca for reporting on the winding-down of a fun and fulfilling year of activities at The Forum. 

The mentoring project is more than the mentoring itself; it also includes various activities, from English classes to the knitting workshop, passing through to the sewing and math classes. The activities are open to all current and former mentees, as well as to the people we provide one-to-one and self-advocacy support.

I have been working at The Forum as an intern for more than a month now, and I feel I have a precious opportunity to be part of such an interesting project. I would say that the activities, as much as the mentoring matches, are the results of an encounter between people, knowledge, countries and experiences. On the one hand, there are the “teachers,” who are willing to dedicate their time and knowledge with passion and patience, and at the same time stay open to be taught by their students to challenge any traditional way of teaching and to be creative in their methods. On the other hand, there are individuals with different needs and reasons for being there. While learning something new and acquiring new skills is always the fundamental reason for users to join the activities, I soon realised that there is much more to it than that: it is also about being together in a welcoming environment, sharing time in a meaningful way with people you feel comfortable with, being part of a group, structuring daily life with a routine, and improving the quality of one's life.

In the last weeks I have been going around, popping in class-to-class with a small camera and a few questions in mind, with the purpose of collecting feedback from the activities.  The students from the different classes reacted in different ways: some were shyer and didn’t want to be on the screen; others couldn’t wait to give their comments to the camera! All of them, however, mentioned their satisfaction with the courses.

Behind the Scenes at The Forum's First Fundraiser

Hello everybody.  Aisha decided to go behind the scenes at our fundraiser and speak to some key people involved. Here is what she found out:

The New Beginnings Team at The Forum had their first ever fundraiser on 19th April 2013 and it most certainly was a festive celebration. 

When I asked Francesca and Heike why they decided to have this event, they said that they thought it was a good idea to celebrate mentoring and fundraise at the same time. They hoped this evening would help involve individuals who do not usually come to activities at The Forum. The main aim of the evening therefore was to help raise awareness about the financial and emotional difficulties faced by immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers.

Read All About It: New Beginnings Is Awarded the Approved Provider Standard

APPROVED!

New Beginnings Mentoring Project was awarded with the Approved Provider Standard, a national quality standard specifically designed for mentoring and befriending projects.

The APS is a relevant acknowledgement of our work and it is a confirmation of our project commitment and effectiveness. The Mentoring and Befriending Foundation (MBF) provides services which aim to increase the effectiveness and quality of mentoring and befriending as methods of enabling individuals to transform their lives and/or reach their full potential and, among other practises, it assesses and verifies the good practice of a project through the APS Quality Standard. 

APS consists of 12 elements which focus on the key management and operational areas that underpin the effectiveness of any mentoring or befriending project. Here are the main points and how the New Beginnings Mentoring Project has successfully met each criterion according to the assessment report. 

1.     PURPOSE. The mentoring project has a clear rationale: MRCF aims to provide a range of services which enhance the wellbeing of asylum seekers and migrants living in London. The project is seeing an increased rise in the number of mentees with mental health conditions and it has adapted its policies and procedures to reflect this.

Folk Music at The Forum

Thanks to Laura for telling us about the music session last Friday! 

It looked like everyone was having great fun at The Forum last Friday!  In collaboration with Live Music Now, a very entertaining and fun music session took place with Tir Eolas and members of MRCF's mentoring project.  Here are some nice pictures taken by our trained photographer Mulugeta that show how much music can bring people together and develop a warm and friendly atmosphere.

Tir Eolas is a young and enthusiastic folk music group that brought us through the hills of Scotland and Ireland with their tunes and made us move with captivating dances!

Don’t miss our next music session on 15th March at MRCF!

Aissata Interviews Francesca About New Beginnings Mentoring

I don't often write on the MRCF blog; therefore, I would like to introduce myself again. My name is Aissata and I am currently studying at St. Mary's University College in Twickenham. Please forgive my English; I am still learning this language.

First of all, I would like to mention how important MRCF has been in my life for the past two years. I found MRCF thanks to a housemate who showed me this place, and MRCF helped me in many ways. At first, I would come for their voucher exchange scheme. It was only this way that I was able to have cash from time to time, and that helped me in getting items that I usually can’t find at Tesco or Sainsbury’s. And then, I would come for the visits to the theatre, the cinema,  the afternoon picnics, or the workshops.

Even though I am not able to attend some of these events at the moment, I remember that they were really important to me. For example: the creative writing workshop with writer Shazea Quraishi, and the theatre with Maja.  Besides, I found the opportunity of meeting new people in the same situation as I am. I found comfort at MRCF.

I also participated in the mentoring project and was delighted to meet Morven, my mentor, a very kind lady whom I still talk to from time to time. In an interview given in September 2011, Francesca offered us more information about the different activities available here. 

A: Today we are in the company of Francesca who is the volunteer coordinator at MRCF. Francesca, would you like to tell us a bit about yourself and your role at MRCF?

F: I started working at MRCF in 2008, and I’m a qualified social worker, but I work here as a volunteer coordinator and I run a mentoring project for migrants, refugees and asylum seekers. We’ve been lucky and we’ve now got some new funding that will go for the next three years, and so we are also supporting people to move on from the mentoring to more self-advocacy to be able to speak up for themselves a little bit more.

A: You talked about the mentoring project. Could you please tell us what it consists of?

F: The mentoring project is a project that supports anyone who would like to be helped emotionally, who would like to meet friends or someone who could actually listen to them on a weekly basis for at least six months. Every migrant, refugee or asylum seeker who would want to be supported can come to MRCF and self-register and we will match them with a mentor, a volunteer who would have a couple of hours every week to meet up with them. A lot of the referrals come through counseling services or mental health services to better support their clients, but people can self-refer themselves.

New Beginnings' Activities Are Back!

Thanks to Laura, New Beginnings Mentoring's lovely new intern, for outlining some of the exciting activities on tap for the first part of 2013. 

The new year has begun and so have our activities! Every new year is full of resolutions and good intentions; let’s try to make them true by joining the activities The Forum organizes. There are many courses you can choose from - it just depends on your needs, passions and how much you want to be involved in our big family. Activities are organized for you to gather together, share your knowledge, gain new skills, discuss what you are interested in and make new friends...what are you waiting for?!? 

Let’s have an overview of our activities from January to March:

English classes: to express yourself in a foreign language can be difficult but it is the first step towards integration and involvement in your new city. We teach three kinds of classes - for those who need to learn English from scratch (Beginners), for those who have a better command of English and need to improve (Intermediate) and a Conversation class to become more fluent in speaking. 

Community Partnership Football Tournament

Thanks to Sandra and Mojan for telling us all about the Community Partnership Football Tournament. Sounds (and looks) like a really fun time!

The players showed up looking charming and delightful in their When Strangers Become Friends t-shirts provided by The Forum (MRCF). They began with a warm up, took some pictures and introduced themselves, which was the best part, said one of our own, Nick, who was also one of the players. Nick also said that they were a bit confused at the start, not knowing how to begin, but finally got it together!

Freezing and windy weather did not prevent us from enjoying ourselves. The Forum and the Department for Transport were the first organisations present to start the football match. After a half hour, the first goal was scored by Ntambwe, one of The Forum’s players, followed by Amine, who scored three goals. However, the other players were also very good and talented. 

When Team London finally arrived, they joined the others for a catch up moment, which led to a friendly and positive atmosphere during the match. The players were playing seriously as if they were in front of cameras and a big audience and gave an impressive performance.

Media Group Wrap Up

Here's a message from Ujwala on behalf of the Media Group!

The Media Group at The Forum met for the penultimate time this year on 4th December, 2012. We did some revising together. The workshop was about editing pictures using Picasa, discussing what is a good photograph and why to perform basic editing, and attempting to reason why the picture was taken. The group picked their favorite pictures, inserted them into a Word document and typed a few lines about the picture and what it meant to them. At the end of the workshop, they also learnt how to attach the document to an e-mail to share. 

As for the insights gained through the workshop, let me share them in the participants' own words:

This picture was taken by Andrei.

I took this picture because I like the name of market. 
Yellow and blue colours are very nice for me as well, 
which is why I used them while editing the picture.

Fareeda tells us about this picture.

This picture was taken by Adel. 
I like this picture because of the building.    

This picture was taken by Mulugeta.

This picture was taken by me and I edited it. 
I like this picture because these two things are quite 
usual in London. Everywhere you can see people having 
a cup of coffee and fiddling with their mobile phones.      

Alain tells us about this picture.

This is the sunset at Portobello by Omid. 
I was not there when the artist took this picture but I can 

guess that it was the sunset at Portobello, not far to 
2 Thorpe Close which is the location of MRCF 

where I attend the IT, maths and English class. 
Through this picture I feel like I was there at that 

wonderful time and I say thanks a lot to Omid who 
makes me live that beautiful time through this picture.

This picture was taken by Geraldine.

This picture was taken by me during our media group class.
I edited it and added a frame.
I think it describes the life of an immigrant.

This picture was taken by Adel.

This is a picture I took. I like this picture because I like this place. 

This picture was taken by Andrei and selected 
by Unisa, who tells us what it means to him. 

I selected this particular picture because I love internet 

technology. It is very unique - the scenery, location and 

the colour, which has to do with communication. It 

also tries to reach the ordinary person throughout the

world. The picture also serves as a bridge between the

western world and the under-developed countries.