During May 2008 we were generously invited to be guests of the Darvell Community (an anabaptist community in East Sussex) this was a really good time of relaxation & just getting to know each other better

Ten asylum seekers came on the trip to the community which warmly welcomed us into their midst. During the weekend the weather was wonderful & every evening we were able to eat in the open air with the community (as there are over 300 living at Darwell this was quite a feat of moving all of the tables & chairs etc out into the open air), we had walks in the countryside, horse & cart rides, & even managed a trip to the seaside to paddle & eat fish & chips.

www.flickr.com http://www.flickr.com/photos/22332865@N03/sets/72157605277629388/

Tags: Asylum, Destitution, Meaningful Lives, Uncategorized by Nigel Biggs
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Every Thursday afternoon since early 2005, up to 75 people from countries such as DR Congo, Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Iraq & Iran come to St. Bride’s Church, Old Trafford, to receive food for the coming week. They are destitute asylum seekers, people who have fled persecution in their home countries & have come here to seek refuge. With their cases rejected, unable to return home, not allowed to work, with nowhere to live & no food, St. Bride’s Destitution Project provides desperately needed food for these people. As well as supplying basic food, other partners at the project provide money to cover the bus fare, toiletries, support & advice.

The Church is called to be a beacon of light, feeding the hungry & caring for those in need. We currently do not have enough funds to continue the project at the level that is necessary to help people, who have no other choice, to survive. Please help, & give us a donation.

Click here to find out more:

destitution-project-report

What can you do?

Would you consider helping the project by:

• Giving food or money
• Telling your congregation of the need
• Display BOAZ information on the church notice board
• Taking up a special offering
• Bringing a delegation to vidit the project
• Taking up a collection of food (from the food list published in the Report)

Please make cheques or charity vouchers payable to St. Bride’s P.C.C., marking it for the Destitution Project.

The project is a partnership between St. Bride’s Church (Trafford), the British Red Cross & The Boaz Trust.

Tags: Appeal, Asylum, Destitution, Food, Uncategorized by Nigel Biggs
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Refused asylum seekers are increasingly having accessing NHS healthcare - this is despite many of them having health issues due to their treatment before, or subsequent to, their escape - this is creating a number of problems:

* denying vulnerable people the chance to identify serious & sometimes life-threatening conditions which need immediate treatment

* contributing to maternal & infant mortality by delaying or preventing access to maternity care

* condemning many children to a life without primary healthcare, inevitably resulting for some in serious illness & death

* increasing the likelihood of serious communicable diseases such as TB & HIV going undiagnosed & being transmitted - endangering public health

* removing an important source of support for women who are experiencing domestic abuse

* increase otherwise avoidable costs to the NHS resulting from late diagnosis & additional administration, & increasing avoidable admissions to hospital

* overburdening Accident & Emergency Departments both with those who should be treated (at significantly less cost) in primary care & with those who have become seriously ill because primary care was unavailable

* denying GPs their current discretion to judge how best to meet the healthcare needs of their local population

* breaching basic international human rights obligations of the UK & entrenching discrimination in the NHS

Follow this link www.ipetitions.com/petition/access?e (or click on the link in the grey Links box on the right) to sign the online petition to support vulnerable refused asylum seekers accessing NHS healthcare

Tags: Asylum, Healthcare, Medical by Nigel Biggs
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