A Safer Place


In January this year, the EA Foundation awarded £25,000 to the Refugee Council towards its Refugee Advice Project (RAP). Last month, our Communications volunteer Yasmin Comez accompanied EA Foundation's Director Georgina Awoonor-Gordon on a visit to the Refugee Council at their offices in East London. Here, Yasmin reflects on the visit and the impact of our funding.

It’s difficult to turn on the TV or any media platform without hearing about the harrowing journeys that people take, against the odds, to escape persecution and to seek refuge in the UK. The riots in the summer were a sad reflection of the discrimination and misconceptions that many refugees face upon arrival in the UK. I was keen to learn more about the challenges faced and the support provided by the Refugee Council.


For example, many people may not know that when a person has been granted refugee status, this immediately puts them at risk of homelessness and destitution as they are required to shift from their asylum support to seeking mainstream welfare support. This often means families moving from temporary accommodation within 28 days and starting the process of accessing any financial assistance, in a new country where they have limited or no support systems.


This is usually where the Refugee Council’s Refugee Advice Project steps in. In addition to providing housing advice to support refugee clients out of homelessness, through our funding over the first six months of the project, the amazingly dedicated team has supported over 97 clients through a range of critical steps. These include ensuring that children start school, that families can access healthcare, food and clothing banks, setting up bank accounts, challenging poor decision-making by local authorities and referring clients to receive other specialist support from organisations such as Helen Bamber Foundation (which supports survivors of trafficking and torture) and legal advice centres.


The team has supported people like Noor (name changed to protect confidentiality), a woman in her mid-30s from Asia, who was suffering from complex mental health issues as a result of trauma and was struggling to engage with homelessness support services. On the day of our visit, we met another client of the project, Eric, who is from Central Africa and had to flee due to the dangerous political situation in his home country. Speaking with Eric was nothing short of inspiring. He had been homeless and spoke of the invaluable support he has received from the Refugee Council. He is now settled and actively seeking employment and expressed his keenness to start giving back productively. 


The team anticipate that recent chances to immigration policy in the UK will increase the number of people being granted refugee status and potentially facing homelessness. This is likely to result in an upsurge in demand for their services, so they are preparing a triage system to ensure that they provide adequate support to new and existing clients and make referrals where needed. 


Upon reflection of our visit, I am profoundly grateful for the opportunity to meet the remarkable individuals at the Refugee Council and the courageous people they support. The dedication and compassion of the team are inspiring, as is their unwavering commitment to providing refuge and hope to those in need. I feel privileged to have heard the stories of how the charity has supported individuals who have faced unimaginable challenges. By the end of my visit, it was clear that the Refugee Council provides vital services and the partnership with EA Foundation ultimately serves to ensure that refugees can live safe and fulfilling lives.


Note from EA Foundation: Kindly note that we mainly fund work in low and medium-income countries. Funding for work in the UK is by exception only.

By Georgina Awoonor-Gordon September 9, 2024
Our Continued Commitment to Under-served Communities Trustees are excited to announce funding of over £1.3m to new projects across the globe. Richard Bronze, Chair of the Board noted: ‘As Trustees, we remain inspired by the ongoing commitment of our funded partners across the globe, working tirelessly to address a multitude of social injustices. We continue to learn and grow through our partners and look forward to seeing the impact in the lives of the communities we work with.’ We are pleased to present a summary of our new funded partnerships: Able Child Africa Project Summary: Testing a new approach of focusing on parents of children with disabilities (CwD) to address the barriers they face Location: Kenya Grant amount: £49,084 For more information on Able Child Africa’s work, please visit: https://ablechildafrica.org/ ADD International Project summary: Piloting a Global Disability Leadership Academy for young disabled people to support their leadership journey Location: Uganda, Bangladesh Grant amount: £35,000 For more information on ADD International’s work, please visit: https://add.org.uk/ Afrikids Project summary: Delivering the 'Every Child in School' programme – a catalyst for education reform in the overlooked and marginalised communities of Northern Ghana Location: Ghana Grant amount: £27,867 For more information on Afrikids’ work, please visit: https://afrikids.org/ BE REEL Project summary: Providing education for women in Gambia, previously uneducated or with minimal education, to enable them to run microbusinesses to improve their self-sufficiency and contribution to family income Location: The Gambia Grant amount: £28,940 For more information on BE REEL’s work, please visit: https://www.bereel.org/ Chance for Childhood Project summary: Promoting Inclusive Education in Greater Accra Location: Ghana Grant amount: £75,547 For more information on Chance for Childhood’s work, please visit: https://chanceforchildhood.org/about-us/ Concern Worldwide Project summary: Building community resilience and sustainable community led solutions for improved access to safe water and natural resource management Location: Liberia Grant amount: £47,000 For more information on Concern Worldwide’s work, please visit: https://www.concern.org.uk/ Fields of Life Project summary: Improving sanitation and hygiene for over 19 thousand adolescent boys and girls across 32 schools and addressing barriers to accessing education for teenage mothers Location: Uganda Grant amount: £45,680 For more information Field of Life’s work, please visit: https://fieldsoflife.org/ Frank Water Project summary: Working with over 10 thousand people in the drought-prone Indian state of Maharashtra to support them in sustainably managing their limited water resources Location: India 18 Grant amount: £63,281 For more information on Frank Water’s work, please visit: https://www.frankwater.com/ Health Poverty Action Project summary: Enhancing the quality and accessibility of Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health services in the pastoralist communities of Dolobay Location: Ethiopia Grant amount: £37,943 For more information on Health Poverty Action’s work, please visit: https://www.healthpovertyaction.org/ Mercy Hands Europe Project summary: Establishing a dedicated healthcare and protection centre in the Qabbasin – Al-Bab area of Aleppo Governorate, with a strong focus on the well-being of women and children Location: Syria Grant amount: £49,558 For more information on Mercy Hands Europe’s work, please visit: https://mercyhandseurope.org/ Mumba Children's Project Project summary: Providing vulnerable school children, female youths and women of rural Zambia with a source of water, an income generating activity and source of nutrition, enabling them to become productive and self-reliant Location: Zambia Grant amount: £16,000 For more information on Mumba Children’s Project work, please visit: https://mumbachildrensproject.org/ Railway Children Project summary: Preventing 400 children arriving alone and vulnerable at two of Delhi’s major railway stations from slipping into street life Location: India Grant amount: £35,000 For more information on Railway Children’s work, please visit: https://www.railwaychildren.org.uk/ Shared Interest Foundation Project summary: Reducing the poverty levels of 75 economically vulnerable women with disabilities in Burkina Faso through establishing a sustainable, organic vegetable production enterprise Location: Burkina Faso Grant amount: £41,044 For more information on Shared Interest Foundation’s work, please visit: https://www.shared-interest.com/gb Smart Girls Uganda Project summary: Scaling training for 100 youth in non-traditional STEM trades and distributing 1,000 Solar Smart Bag ((menstrual hygiene kit/backpack) Location: Uganda Grant amount: £47,553 For more information on Smart Girls Uganda’s work, please visit: https://www.smartsgirls.org/ Smiling Through Light Project summary: Utilising digital innovation and implementation of Pay as You Go (PAYG) Solar Home Systems to rural communities in Sierra Leone through a network of female sales agents Location: Sierra Leone Grant amount: £30,000 For more information on Smiling Through Light’s work, please visit: https://www.smilingthroughlight.com/ Sophia Akash Foundation Project summary: Delivering inclusive and equitable training for 200 marginalised women to adopt sustainable farming practices Location: India Grant amount: £50,000 For more information on Sophia Akash Foundation’s work, please visit: https://www.sophiaakashfoundation.com/ Syrian Forum Project summary: Transformative project designed to uplift women in northwest Syria by equipping them with essential digital skills crucial for the modern workforce Location: Syria Grant amount: £49,000 For more information on Syrian Forum’s work, please visit: https://syrianforum.org/ Tackle Africa Project summary: Using the power and popularity of football to reach 1,000 adolescents and young people with the Sexual Reproductive Health knowledge Location: Zambia Grant amount: £40,065 For more information on Able Child Africa’s work, please visit: https://tackleafrica.org/ Their Future Today Project summary: Pioneering the first foster and alternative care/kinship centre for children currently in institutional care settings Location: Sri Lanka Grant amount: £50,000 For more information on Their Future Today’s work, please visit: https://www.theirfuturetoday.org/ UK for UNHCR Project summary: contribution to the Middle East Appeal Location: Middle East Grant amount: £20,000 For more information on UK for UNHCR’s work, please visit: https://www.unrefugees.org.uk/ United World Schools (UWS) Project summary: Strategic partnership - delivering quality education and expanding school infrastructure over three years Location: Madagascar Grant amount: £319,209 For more information on United World Schools’ work, please visit: https://uwsglobal.net/ WasteAid Project summary: Empowering marginalised and underserviced communities to recover the value of waste from within their communities and help lift themselves out of poverty Location: South Africa Grant amount: £45,000 For more information on Wasteaid’s work, please visit: https://wasteaid.org/ Women for Women International Project summary: Supporting 200 marginalised women in Plateau State to build pathways out of poverty via a holistic approach to tackling multiple social, economic, and cultural barriers to women’s progress Location: Nigeria Grant amount: £50,000 For more information on Women for Women International’s work, please visit: https://womenforwomen.org.uk/
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