Annual Report:  November 2005 - February 2007

our regular activities

·         Two drop-ins each week: 20 to 70 people each week from Swansea and the world!

·         Fridays 5 – 7 at Brunswick Methodist Church, St Helen’s Rd, next to the new “Exotica” supermarket.

·         Saturdays 2 – 5, St Phillips Community Centre, Opposite the bus-station/Quadrant.

·         “Welcome to Play” sessions at the drop-ins and at special events. Creative activities for children, training and qualifications for play leaders and volunteers

·         Informal language sessions at Friday and Saturday drop-ins – conversation, building friendships

·         Celebrations – e.g. birthday parties, Nirwooz, Eid, Winter parties.

·         Football team. Matches with local teams on Saturdays

·         Newsletter

Events

·         November 29^th 2005 Public Meeting “Asylum – facts and action”

·         January Winter Party

·         January Guemar family feature on TV programme on asylum

·         8^th March International Women’s Day, Seminar on Women and Asylum, organised by SBASSG and Asylum Justice

·         3-7^th  April, SBASSG represented at Praxis Event – Refugee Voice Wales

·         24^th May. Latefa Guemar (SBASSG) and Dr Anja Rudiger, Refugee Council. Focus Group “The impact of Anti-Terrorism Acts on Asylum Seekers and Refugees’ lives

·         26^th  May, Seminar on Access of Asylum Seekers and Refugees to Higher Education.

·         June, Welsh Refugee Week,  Launch of Festival of the Wolf, bilingual anthology of refugee writing from Wales and around the world. Weekend at the Waterfront Museum: Entertainment, seminars, food, launch of international song sharing group

·         August. Asylum seeker/refugee families visited National Eisteddfod, helped staff Welsh Refugee Council stall – selling “Festival of the Wolf” books and collecting petitions against the war in Lebanon

·         August Poetry readings with Swansea Libraries at Pontardawe Festival

·         August Summer barbecue – organised but called off because of rain!

·         August “Friday drop-ins on the beach” experiment. Trip to Gower beach

·         August. 3 North African families took part in Mas Carnival workshops and parade

·         December joint winter party with Africa Community Centre

·         Children in “Welcome to Play” make beautiful fundraising Christmas cards

·         January. International Song Sharing Group becomes a sub-group of SBASSG

·         January Visit to pantomime

·         Jan/February. Facilitators from SBASSG and other asylum/refugee organisations ran consultation sessions on WAG draft Refugee Inclusion Strategy for WRC and Refugee Voice Wales

·         February half-term visits to Forest School

·         Stalls, talks, poetry readings presentations etc etc!!

Ideas for the future

We have achieved a lot this year, and now want to:

·         Reach more asylum seekers and refugees – particularly when they arrive

·         Provide more practical help and information – at a time when the situation for asylum seekers is becoming more and more unjust

·         Have a wider range of activities

TO DO THIS WE NEED TO

·         Find people willing to take the lead on activities – (Like public awareness raising, anti-deportation campaigning)

·         Work even more closely with our partner agencies (For example by inviting more of our partners and more community groups to come to our drop-ins and offer information and advice)

·         Keep working at what we already do well, and encourage others to volunteer

·         Be realistic about what we can do!

The committee always welcomes ideas and offers of help

THANKS

·         To individuals and groups for supporting us financially. Particular thanks this year to Comic Relief and Oxfam for their grant aid

·         To our colleagues working with asylum seekers and refugees in Swansea and South Wales for their support and willingness to work in partnership.

·         To our other partners in the community –to everyone in Swansea who works with us to say “welcome to asylum seekers and refugees”.

·         To all our volunteers and everyone who comes along to our activities and is part of our growing community

·         To St Phillips Community Centre and the Brunswick Methodist Church for being helpful and tolerant landlords