Blog Posts

Virtual tea and recipe swap

23/11/2020

St Albans Masorti Synagogue (SAMS) went online this year for their annual family tea with Herts Welcomes Refugees which was replaced by a recipe swap, virtual tea and Q & A session.

Before the virtual tea, attendees had been able to follow YouTube recipe videos supplied by Nadia Alomar making delicious Syrian qatayef pancakes and SAMS member Victoria Prever making scones. Victoria and Nadia also met outside to swap scones and qatayef to taste each other’s teatime treats.

You can see the videos and recipes at https://bit.ly/nadiaqatayef and https://bit.ly/Victoriascones

On Sunday, members of both groups sat down to scones and/or qatayef in their own homes, while they took part in a zoom discussion chaired by SAMS member Helen Singer about the different food customs around afternoon tea.

Helen said, “This was a lovely way to share and swap recipes. SAMS are so grateful to Nadia, her son Amr for filming her and HWR volunteer Kate for helping Nadia explain the recipe and prepare to answer questions in English. Thanks also to the other HWR members who took part.”

Victoria said, “The qatayef were delicious and so pretty. It was very interesting to hear about Syrian food customs and to meet the lovely Syrian bakers.”

Halloween Storytime session

18/11/2020

In conjunction with our new children’s library project, we recently held a Storytime Zoom session for refugee children in Hertfordshire during the half-term. The session, which was Halloween themed, attracted twenty-three participants, some of whom were dressed up in costume. We were particularly impressed with the three witches.

Sticking with the Halloween theme, we read Funnybones and Room on the Broom, which the children enjoyed thoroughly. We also led a bit of singing and were pleased to see how the children participated. The aim of these storytime sessions is to encourage children to read and enjoy stories, and we hope to run a few more over the Christmas holidays.

Talk with Children's Author Onjali Rauf

15/11/2020

Herts Welcomes Refugees was thrilled to recently host award-winning children’s author Onjali Rauf on a Youth Zoom call with over thirty children supported by our charity.

Onjali read the children an extract from one of her novels, The Boy at the Back of the Class, which tells the story of a refugee boy living in the UK. Onjali discussed bullying and shared some of her own experiences before listening to the children, who opened up about their lives.

A lively Q&A covered topics such as writing, books, friendships, school, food, and pomegranates. The children loved meeting Onjali and were truly inspired by her openness and warmth. We’re so grateful that she offered to do this, and look forward to reading more of her work in future.

HWR Children's Library Launches

29/10/2020

Herts Welcomes Refugees is pleased to announce the launch of our Children’s Library Project. Starting this month, we will be distributing a bundle of specially selected books to each of the 122 children supported by Herts Welcomes Refugees, ranging in age from infant to 18 years. Books will be sent out at least three times a year, and children will be free to keep any of the books that they enjoy.

The idea for this project was developed by the daughter of our volunteer incoming treasurer. Ten-year-old Roma is a book lover and wanted to make sure that refugee children in our area have access to great books at home. She and another volunteer’s daughter will be writing a library newsletter that will go out to all of the children receiving books. So far, over five hundred books have been distributed through this project.

Incoming Treasurer Mala Mulholland is running the library and has been collecting book donations in her home over the past few months. Along with fiction and non-fiction titles, she is currently collecting GCSE Maths and English books, as well as any A-Level Study guides. The library will not draw money from our charity’s funds unless a donation is specifically marked for this purpose (Reference: Library Fund). Mala will be working to raise money for this project through grants, donations, and sponsorships. She intends to learn more about each child’s reading tastes and to send out books that will best meet their needs.

At the moment, with Covid-19 making libraries more difficult to access and creating financial and emotional hardships for some families, we believe that the gift of books can offer multiple benefits: widening perspectives, offering comfort and relief, as well as improving vocabulary and literacy.

Mala continues to collect used children’s books in very good condition, so if you’d like to donate books, please contact her directly at Mala.Mulholland@hwsf.org.uk

Face Coverings - Final Update

11/10/2020

The face coverings made by one of our refugee partners have proved very popular. We only have 11 adult face coverings left in the patterns pictured below. We also still have face coverings for children.

We suggest a donation of £5 for adult face coverings and £3 for children's, but please give what you like.

1. First e-mail your order and postal address to woodcraftvicky@gmail.com
2. Next, transfer your donation directly to Herts Welcomes Refugees
Sort code 20 03 18
Account number 43149080

Please label your donation ‘masks'

Adult Face Coverings

Children's Face Coverings

Face Coverings

13/9/2020

A refugee partner, who is an excellent tailor, made some double-layer face coverings for us to give to supporters in exchange for a donation to our charity.

We suggest a donation of £5 per mask but please give what you like.

1. First e-mail your order and postal address to woodcraftvicky@gmail.com
2. Next, transfer your donation directly to Herts Welcomes Refugees
Sort code 20 03 18
Account number 43149080

Please label your donation ‘masks'

picnic in Ware

26/8/2020

Before lockdown, a women’s group met twice a month in Ware. Partners and volunteers would bring a delicious lunch to eat together whilst conversing in English and Arabic.

Sometimes a speaker would visit to give a talk; there were visitors from the Red Cross, Citizens Advice, and the Police Hate Crime service. Other times the group practised yoga, talked about music, or made holiday decorations. The main point was coming together to have fun and to build relationships.

Coronavirus ended all that. The group tried having meetings on Zoom, but they were not possible for some volunteers and partners.

By July, when restrictions loosened, the group arranged an outdoor socially-distanced picnic inviting the families of the original members.

Several families and volunteers gathered on a small island in the river at Ware, near the Priory. It was a perfect shady spot with plenty of space for everyone, even at a distance.

Everyone brought their own food and shared some on a cloth in the middle. The group chatted, ate delicious goodies, fed the geese and took photos of each other. The children ran around and played – and no one fell in the water! For some the best part came when people attempted to walk on an old pair of stilts.

The group hopes to meet again before too long, and to resume in-person meetings again in the future.

HWR face coverings update

18/8/2020

Last week, a refugee partner, who is an excellent tailor, made some double-layer face coverings for us to give to supporters in exchange for a donation to our charity. We've already sold out! Luckily, he's just made some more in the most beautiful patterns (see above). Order quickly as we only have limited quantities.

We suggest a donation of £5 per mask but please give what you like.

1. First e-mail your order and postal address to woodcraftvicky@gmail.com
2. Next, transfer your donation directly to Herts Welcomes Refugees
Sort code 20 03 18
Account number 43149080

Please label your donation ‘masks'

New co-convenor for watford & Three Rivers

15/8/2020

For the past three years, Sobia Razzaq has been volunteering with Herts Welcomes Refugees and we’re happy to announce that she is now the area co-convenor for Watford and Three Rivers.

Sobia is a senior lecturer in law at the University of Westminster and first became involved with our charity because of her teenage son’s interest in helping refugees.

Initially, Sobia felt that she could contribute by putting together gift boxes for the refugee families for their Eid celebrations. A Muslim herself, Sobia was able to connect with the families through their shared faith, which helped the families to feel less isolated. She began to put together gift boxes twice a year for Eid and Ramadan, and as she got to know the families she was also able to assist by sourcing household goods and helping them to navigate life in the UK.

Sobia feels honoured to be part of so many of the families’ lives, notably, amongst other instances, how she supported one young refugee mother through a pregnancy and birth, linking her up with a midwife friend who arranged a doula through Midwives Without Borders to ensure that the birth went smoothly.

We’re so pleased to have Sobia on our Management Team and appreciate all of her contributions.

face coverings for HWR

12/8/2020

One of our refugee partners, who is an excellent tailor, has made some double-layer face coverings that he's given us to benefit our charity as he just wants ‘to give something back.’

We suggest a donation of £5 per mask but please give what you like.

1. First e-mail your order and postal address to woodcraftvicky@gmail.com
2. Next, transfer your donation directly to Herts Welcomes Refugees
Sort code 20 03 18
Account number 43149080

Please label your donation ‘masks'

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