Friendly Welcome Launch Event
We were delighted to be joined by more than 50 people at our Launch Event on 15th March, and really touched by the warmth and support shown by everyone who came.
We are very happy that the event has helped us to build our community of supporters – including people who want to volunteer, help us towards our fundraising target, or just follow our progress. We’re grateful for everyone’s support, in whatever form it takes.
Event Summary:
Speakers:
Sabrina Francis (Mayor, London Borough Camden)
Tim Robertson (Chair, Friendly Welcome)
Tim Finch (Founder Sponsor Refugees)
Tamara Joseph (Co-Chair Barnet Citizens)
Nikki Jeffcote (Project Manager and Co-Chair, Friendly Welcome)
Key themes:
Agency and empowerment: Tim F and Tamara reminded us that community sponsorship is about providing an environment that empowers the family, enabling them to forge their own paths in our community. Our role is to support them in the early stages of that journey, not to "take care of them" long term. Everything we do must be about giving the family agency and independence, enabling them to rebuild their lives in our community.
Learning from others: Nikki said she had been inspired by learning about community sponsorship in Canada, which has welcomed 300,000 refugees since pioneering this approach in the 1980s. Canada’s long experience has shown that community sponsorship can change the way a nation thinks about refugees, by giving old and new citizens the opportunity to get to know one another as individuals. Tamara shared with us some fascinating learning about patterns of stress and growth during the resettlement process, described in training by the UN’s Institute of Migration. Tim F observed that volunteers with community sponsorship groups regularly go on to work at Sponsor Refugees (our Lead Sponsor), sharing their real-life learning and experiences with groups embarking on the community sponsorship journey.
Diverse team of ordinary people: Tim R said he had been thrilled at how quickly a diverse group of people from different backgrounds had come together to pursue this project with energy, enthusiasm and commitment. All the speakers highlighted that community sponsorship is about 'ordinary people' working together to welcome and support a new family into their community. They all said how much they personally had gained from being involved in past and present community sponsorship projects.
Camden: Our Mayor said that Camden combines a local, national and international outlook, and that there’s nowhere better equipped to provide the family with a warm welcome and the support they need. She highlighted the value of Friendly Welcome as a volunteer-led project, which allows all money raised to go directly to supporting the family, and reflects the personal values, energy and commitment of everyone involved. Tamara also drew our attention to the many benefits Camden offers, including excellent hospitals, schools and community initiatives.
We also watched an inspiring video featuring Syrian refugees Hani, Amneh and their two children who resettled in Devon in 2017. The video can be watched again here.
To close the event our Mayor opened platters of Syrian Middle Easter sweets (provided by one of our volunteers) and these were shared with everyone who attended symbolising our wish to share our resources and community with all.
Photographs
