This page contains information about projects supported in :

Leeds,Yorkshire;Plaistow; Swindon.

Asylum seekers: Leeds

Franciscan Aid were able to support by funding classroom resources; books, photocopying, stationery. 

The aims of the project are to ensure that the ever-growing number of asylum seekers & refugees from a variety of backgrounds & cultures will be able to continue to access our English classes in order to build up skills to help them prepare for future employment & citizenship. Through government cut backs, many of our students are unable to access courses in local FE colleges. Additional benefits include pastoral care leading to increased confidence & self esteem which enable them to overcome feelings of helplessness, powerlessness & exclusion.

In a later application:

‘Our aim is to provide education, social and cultural activities to improve the well-being and confidence of learners and to support inter-cultural harmony. In practical terms we do this through teaching English in a safe, welcoming, supportive and caring environment where learners, who often feel marginalised because of their experiences and journeys so far, can feel valued. It is a place where they know they will not be treated differently because of their background, religion or culture. We also aim to help learners also become less isolated in wider British Society by building on their self-esteem and confidence through learning English, creating a greater level of community cohesion.

The First Order Brothers in Leeds:

Our project is based in Harehills which is a vibrant, multi-cultural community but is not without its problems of high unemployment with great competition for the few jobs available, drug addiction and anti-social behaviour. Many families find themselves on the margins of society with little or no income, living on benefits and suffering from isolation and loneliness. Despite there being deprivation there is a richness and diversity within the community.  People are friendly and happy to engage with charities and supporting agencies. Also there is a willingness of many to integrate with British society and culture whilst retaining their own unique cultural identity. Many third sector charities work together in harmony. People have a thirst for learning and a real desire to engage in educational classes leading to changes in aspirations and goals.

The money you could grant us would be of enormous use and would directly help those who are in need in one of the poorest and most socially deprived areas of the country.

We have two small terraced houses in Harehills, Leeds and we have at this time one brother living in each house with 3 asylum seekers in the first house and 2 asylum seekers living with a brother in the second house.    The asylum seekers we house are sent to us through an agency, Grace Hosting, and the asylum seekers are destitute; that is they have been rejected by the Home Office and the Court and therefore not entitled to any state accommodation nor state financial aid.  The rely totally on friends, most of who are in a similar situation to themselves, or agencies like us who can provide them with free food and accommodation.   As I said we have 5 in residence and the local authority is saying that the discount we were given because they thought only one non-brother lived with us is being withdrawn and we will have to pay the full council tax! 

Most of our asylum seekers are from the Middle East – Iran and Iraq; currently our guys are 3 Iranian speaking Farsi and 2 Iraqis speaking Kurdish.   But we also have other nationals and we take both Christian and Muslims.   Grace Hosting is an organisation which finds asylum seekers overnight accommodation with volunteer hosts but we are an exception in that we take people for longer periods, often a year or longer, and are able to give them a family atmosphere.  3 years ago I was regarded as an older brother, even a father-figure – but the latest arrival who is 28 asked if he could call me grandfather!!!.  But the important this is that we welcome them into a family and give them a stability and hope; for many it is too dangerous to contact their own parents back in Iran for example because if the special police know of it, it has serious repercussions for their families.    Often, particularly with the Muslim Iraqi asylum seekers who have wanted to marry a Christian girl or who have converted to Christianity, they have had death threats from other family members; and those who have fled Iran because of political or religious reasons – especially if they have converted to Christianity – cannot return because they will be imprisoned, tortured and executed. 

Through my connections with the local Church, of which 30per cent of our congregation are from the Middle East, I find that I go to Court with many of our members to witness that I believe they are genuine Christian converts.   I will  only do this if I am pretty certain that I think they are – and this involves observing that they have attended Church for a long period of time faithfully and regularly; have helped around the church when asked to do so, and having sat with them and ‘interviewed’ them as to what Jesus Christ means to them and how He has changed their own way of life etc etc.  We have, thanks be to God, had a good success rate with the Judge believing us, over the Home Office whose declared intent is to persuade the judge that the asylum seeker should not be allowed to remain in the UK.    It is heart breaking to hear the stories of how some of them reached the UK, smuggled in having journeyed in the back of a lorry or in the boot of cars, been on small boats crossing seas which have capsized the boats and they have seen women and children drown before their eye – and to hear that the Home Office do not believe their stories.

Depression is part of the course of being an asylum seeker; perhaps attending a gym or going to church are the only ways they can forget their troubles for an hour or so.   The asylum seekers at S. Aidan’s in Leeds attend the Church Service and then come  to the New Christian Formation Class held immediately afterwards; about 35 – 40 of them.  The classes are in English but translated into both Farsi and Kurdish.   I give the classes if the regular teacher is away and I lead the baptismal and confirmation classes though my main role is to help them through the court appearances if possible.

The brothers provide in addition to food and accommodation, toiletries, shampoos, etc and we arrange dental appointments, accompany them to hospital when necessary and to the doctors, ring round and help them with bureaucracy. It is a privilege to do this; asylum seekers are the modern-day lepers I think and it is a ministry to the marginalised which I am sure would make S. Francis happy.    A donation to the Leeds House would greatly enhance what we can do and provide for the asylum seeker – and keep our head about water!  I think it is also an important witness that we do not only help and work with the poor, but we also live in poor areas.  Harehills is such an area; one of the few in Leeds where properties do not go up in value!  We wear our habits and we witness to the presence of Christ in a heavily and dominant Muslim area.  We have made many Muslim friends.  This year, being the 800th anniversary of Francis meeting with the Sultan, we are working with some Third Order members to meet regularly with Muslim clerics and teachers in the locality with a view to putting on a short display, acting out the meeting of Francis and the Sultan and hopefully this will lead to a better respect and understanding of folk from different religions.   What else do we do, apart from cook, clean and bottle wash; go to Court, doctors and dentists, be surrogate parents, and siblings – we pray.  We have converted a downstairs room in an oratory and we daily say our prayers here, offering up the locality and neighbours to God.  We were not called out of a nasty world, so much as bringing in a difficult world to the loving presence of a God who is the only one who can do anything about it, and who needs human bodies to enact his love.

Helping Hands Plaistow

Franciscan Aid was able to help with incidental expenses for the asylum seekers living at the Friary: bus fares, Phone cards, fares to UK Borders Agency Offices, setting up home.

Harbour Project – Swindon

A Sewing Circle for female Asylum Seekers or Refugees based at the Harbour Project was to be set up. Franciscan Aid funded resilient, good quality materials and new standard sewing machines.  It was envisaged that the Sewing Circle would be held during the day, in school term time, for a maximum of two hours a week, with half an hour set up and half an hour clear up time in addition, making 3 hours a week in total for overheads, such room hire.  With six machines it would be possible to have up to 12 women at a session.  There are 5 professed members of TSSF and 1 postulant involved as regular volunteers with the Harbour Project.

The Harbour Project is a local charity, which supports Refugees and Asylum Seekers who have been sent to Swindon (a designated “Dispersal” town).  The project engages with around 40 different nationalities, and is a huge mixture of cultures and faiths.  The Sewing Circle project would reach out to one of the most isolated groups the Harbour deals with: namely the wives of, and women who are, asylum seekers and refugees.  It would be a place of interaction as well as the chance to learn new and rekindle sewing skills.

The Sewing Circle would allow for integration with the host community in a safe space i.e. The Harbour Building.  It is a place where their men folk are happy for the women to go, it is a location they know, and the classes will be run by women, for women.  It would be engaging with skills seen in many cultures as appropriate and important for women. 

The skills taught would be in response to the women’s needs such as: mending and altering clothes, turning up school trousers, making curtains and home furnishings, making new clothes etc…  It would help those on a very low income (asylum seekers payments or job seekers allowance) manage better, give some independence to the women, encourage home based skills which could lead to some kind of local social enterprise.

A church in Yorkshire

Franciscan Aid received the following request: ‘We support around 16 Asylum Seekers (this number fluctuates as their cases are heard by the Home Office and they move on or are sent home).  At the moment we have two very young babies in the group and one lady is pregnant and ill.  Our congregation of 30+ raise approximately £60 per week for this purpose by voluntary retiring collection.  It is not sufficient to really help the group.’ 

We have families from Iran – Kurds and Yzeries, Albania, Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka & Malawi at present and have to translate our services into Farsi and Albanian. We hope to put together a small bi-lingual library of Christian books to help them in their understanding of the Christian faith. We also hope to supply bi-lingual Bibles where obtainable and to help with counselling costs for the traumatized.’

Franciscan Aid were able to send supporting funds and the Project Link reported: 

‘We have had an exciting few months since my request.  Apart from subsidising the Asylum Seekers income, we sent two mums and their sons on some trips to help relieve the monotony of the summer holidays.  The 6 week holidays must seem a very long time to Mums of 8 year old boys when they are existing on £35 per week – an added burden is giving them lunch which they normally get at school.   Anna, our Vicar’s wife has taken them on walks and they are invited to the Vicarage and to some of our congregations’ homes for a meal.

Four of the asylum seekers were Confirmed at a superb service presided over by Bishop Toby on the 18th October – they all reported being deeply affected when he anointed their heads and laid hands on them.  They are all so keen to learn as much as they can about the faith that they put us to shame!  Three of them came to Bradford Cathedral with me last Saturday to have training in administering the chalice at the Eucharist. One young man assisted me on Sunday and was so very reverent in his administration.  What a real blessing they all are and it is especially wonderful to be able to help them financially thanks to Franciscan Aid. 

Our Patronal Festival is on Sunday and three of the women are helping contribute food for a shared meal – thanks to Franciscan Aid we are fortunate to be able to offer them some funding for ingredients etc.  We had a shared meal for Harvest and the dishes on offer were so varied and very different from our usual ham & chicken!  There is nothing quite like a shared meal to bring everyone together!’