Justice and Human Rights United Kingdom Project #22691

Stand with Survivors

by Helen Bamber Foundation

Project Report | May 20, 2019
May 2019 Helen Bamber Foundation Report

By Sophie Parker | Fundraising and Communications Officer

Hello friends,

I hope this finds you well, and that you're having a wonderful start to the new year. We're so excited to share what we have been up to with you.

We would also like to thank you for your support and allowing us to provide recovery support to survivors of human cruelty. Thank you!

Integration Programme:

In this report, we're focusing on our Integration programme, which empowers refugees and asylum seekers who have experienced human cruelty, such as torture or human trafficking, to build successful, independent lives by providing opportunities to gain and rebuild key life skills, confidence and self-esteem.

Through this programme, survivors access English classes, computer classes and financial skills workshops to help them get on their feet in the UK. We also support survivors to access education, as well as to prepare for and enter employment. We deliver this using a combination of one-to-one support from our Integration team as well as employability and education workshops where volunteers support clients to access new opportunities.

Onyeka's Story

Onyeka is from the Ivory Coast. She was referred to the Helen Bamber Foundation in 2013.

The civil war in the Ivory Coast has been extremely violent: many were raped and killed, and Onkeya unfortunately suffered through extremely traumatic experiences before she left the country.

When she first came to the Helen Bamber Foundation, she found it very difficult to engage in therapy, talking about her experiences was just too upsetting.

She was suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder including flashbacks, nightmares, intrusive memories and dissociation. She struggled to enjoy any activity and depression left her feeling hopeless and numb.

Whilst she wasn’t ready to start engaging in therapy yet, we were able to help her with other aspects of her life. Onkeya grew to love taking part in our art group: ‘I found a comfort and a way to express myself.

To me it was not so much making something as releasing something. I was healing through doing.’. She completed beginners level art design courses at her local college and is now continuing to study for an advanced qualification in Graphic Design.

Recently, Onyeka has begun working as a graphic design teacher at a local University where she is making friends with her new colleagues.

We are so proud of the massive improvements these people have made in their lives and it's been wonderful to see these transformations.

Thank you once again for your support and we look forward to sharing more of our work with you in our next report.

Our warmest regards

Helen Bamber Foundation

Links:

Helen Bamber Website

Permalink

Feb 1, 2019
January 2019 Helen Bamber Foundation Report

By Sophie Parker | Fundraising and Communications Officer

Thank you from all of us at HBF!

Hello friends,

I hope this finds you well, and that you're having a wonderful start to the new year. We're so excited to share what we have been up to with you. We would also like to thank you for your support and allowing us to provide recovery support to survivors of human cruelty. Thank you!

In this update we'd like to share with you a few special stories of survivors that we've worked with in the last few months:

One survivor got in touch to let us know about her new job, following her involvement in our employment workshops last year. Amazingly, her employer also has a refugee employment scheme, so she was getting in touch to extend the invitation for more HBF clients to apply for work.

One therapy client has had a really big turn-around: with our help, just before Christmas she was given suitable accommodation (after a LONG battle). This has massively increased her hope for the future and improved her mood. Meaning with guidance from our Integration team, she has felt able to start volunteering, is about to start a baking course, and is looking at ways to resume her career as a nurse.

A Vietnamese victim of trafficking was in detention for years because of being charged with criminal activity while in trafficking. When he came out of detention, he slept on the floor of the one room he shared with his wife, and young son and daughter. They became homeless at the beginning of December and we helped them get accommodation from their council. They were recently moved somewhere bigger but with no furniture, and with two grant applications from HBF, we’ve got the family a double bed & mattress, bunk beds and mattresses, a sofa, dining table and chairs, washing machine, wardrobe, pots & pans and a vacuum cleaner! The client has become more and more assertive throughout all of this and his family finally have enough space for them all and furniture to be able to enjoy their living space together.

Our women’s walking group did their first walk this month and decided to name themselves ‘Happy Women Together’ – this group of survivors will be continuing their training throughout the year and building up to the challenge of climbing the three highest peaks in the UK (find out more here). This group promises to have a huge impact on these women’s lives, improving confidence, leadership and outdoor skills and reducing loneliness and isolation

We are so proud of the massive improvements these people have made in their lives and it's been wonderful to see these transformations.

Thank you once again for your support and we look forward to sharing more of our work with you in our next report.

Our warmest regards

Helen Bamber Foundation

Links:

Helen Bamber Foundation Website

Permalink

Nov 1, 2018
October 2018 Helen Bamber Foundation Report

By Sophie Parker | Fundraising and Communications Officer

Hello friends,

I hope this finds you well, we're cosying up now it's getting cooler. We're so excited to share what we have been up to with you. We would also like to thank you for your support and allowing us to provide recovery support to survivors of human cruelty. Thank you!

In this update we're focusing on the amazing integration work the Helen Bamber Foundation has been doing over the past few months.

Achievements

We help survivors to access employment and education through advice and tailored support. This year, HBF has supported 228 clients through eight Creative Arts and Skills Programmes. We have also supported over 250 vulnerable refugee and asylum seeking mums and their babies to feel safe, build their confidence and integrate with the community.

Creative arts programme

Our Creative Arts Programme provides vital opportunities for HBF clients to engage in activities unrelated to their trauma and to develop confidence, self-esteem and positive peer relationships. 23 skilled volunteers deliver this programme along with HBF staff members. Some of our achievements include:

32 survivors attended HBF’s popular and in-demand music group, Woven Gold
29 survivors attended English skills group;
25 survivors attended HBF’s football group;
12 survivors attended HBF’s long-running knitting group;
128 survivors attend HBF’s photography group;
9 survivors attended the computer skills group;
19 survivors attended the art group;
10 survivors attended textile / arts and crafts group.

The Creative Arts Programme has continued to be popular amongst clients. A recent evaluation showed:

72% of clients reported feeling more confident since coming to the group;
85% of clients felt they had made friends in the group
72% of clients reported they had learned new skills in the group
65% of clients felt less lonely since coming to the group.

Life SKILLS

The life skills initiatives are part of the integration programme aimed to provide interventions for clients to learn vital technical and professional skills. The activities delivered under life skills include:

Weekly English group dedicated to supporting clients who have very little or no English skills including clients who have never engaged in any formal education.
English language mentoring programme.
Weekly Computer group delivering essential digital skills for clients who have never used a computer before.
Financial Skills training programme
Health Education Programme

Education and employability

HBF has been supporting clients to help them access education, as well as to prepare for and enter employment. HBF runs education clinics where volunteers help clients who are interested in pursuing education to research options and make relevant applications. Clients attended a workshop on CV skills, interview techniques, and job-hunting. The clients gave us a positive feedback after the workshop and said they now feel more confident in looking for employment.

Befriending

Many of our clients suffer loneliness and find it hard to integrate. We facilitate befriending which pairs up local people with our clients to meet up every couple of weeks to help our clients integrate and feel at home and welcomed in London.

Thank you once again for your support and we look forward to sharing more of our work with you in our next report.

Our warmest regards

Helen Bamber Foundation

Links:

http://www.helenbamber.org

Permalink

‹ 1 2 3 4 5 6 ›

About Project Reports

Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.

If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can receive an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.