Our volunteer Livy recently organised a sold-out concert in St Albans, which raised over £1,000 for our charity.
Opening with prayers and a moment of silence for Her Majesty The Queen, the event featured Ukrainian musicians and ended with a moving choral piece titled "A Ukrainian Prayer." Proceeds were divided between us and Disasters Emergency Committee Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal. Thank you, Livy! It is with a very heavy heart that we learn of the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II – the world’s greatest queen.
As well as being the longest reigning British Monarch – Her Majesty was also the longest reigning female monarch in world history. In 1947 at the age of just 21 the young Princes Elizabeth promised to dedicate her life – “be it long or short” to the service of Her people. How she lived up to that promise every day of her long life over the last 70-plus years. A life of service, devotion and duty as head of a nation and the Commonwealth were witnessed across the globe during her many visits both around the UK and overseas and it is fair to say that she was loved and revered by all. Hertfordshire was well known to Her Majesty as her Mother’s family live in the north of the county and she had many fond memories of her time spent in Hertfordshire. She was a regular visitor to the county from the beginning of her reign-the last visits being in 2016 to Berkhamsted School- of which she was Patron-where thousands of local people turned out to welcome their Queen. I had the honour and privilege to meet The Queen on several occasions and on each she made me laugh with her wicked sense of humour at the same time as her sharp mind focused on the most poignant issues of the day. Nearly 85% of the British population have only ever known one monarch in their lives and what a privilege it has been to be able to have called this great lady “Our Queen”. My thoughts and sincerest condolences go to the Royal Family and may Our Queen rest in eternal peace. Robert Voss CBE CStJ Her Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of Hertfordshire Volunteer Livy is organising a concert at St. Stephen's Church in St Albans on 10th September to benefit Ukrainians.
Professionals and local musicians will perform a variety of popular classical pieces. There will be light refreshments and a raffle. All proceeds will go to support the Disasters Emergency Committee Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal and Herts Welcomes Refugees, both providing vital support on the frontline and in our local community. Saturday 10 September 2022, 7 PM St Stephen’s Church, St Albans Tickets £15 (£5 under 18s and students) Book at https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/392561129907 Thomasz (who works for the Refugee Council) has decided to fundraise for us by cycling from coast to coast!
He says: "Thanks to Herts Welcomes Refugees, Hertfordshire has become a much more welcoming place to live for asylum seekers & refugees." We hope you'll help him to raise his goal of raising £2000 for Herts Welcomes Refugees, by supporting his fundraiser here. UPDATE: Thomasz completed his ride and raised a wonderful £795 for our charity! Thank you so much, Thomasz! On 20 August, we celebrated Afghan culture with over 60 Afghan refugees for the Fly With Me festival.
We hired a bus and headed to Dunstable Downs where perfect conditions kept our homemade kites aloft. Our volunteers held 2 kite-making workshops with Afghans earlier in the week and the results were impressive! It was a beautiful event showing solidarity with the people of Afghanistan and calling for equal treatment for all asylum seekers. We were delighted to see our video and tweet about the event featured in this article on NPR: https://www.npr.org/2022/08/20/1118639064/kite-festival-solidarity-afghanistan-london Our volunteers had a practice kite-making session last night. Soon we'll help Afghan refugees make their own kites for the Fly With Me festival. On Saturday, we'll join others across Europe filling the sky with colourful kites to mark one year since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan.
The Fly With Me festival celebrates Afghan culture, which includes the art of kite-making. It also shows solidarity with people still living in Afghanistan. We've been busy this summer!
Our volunteers gathered for a garden party under a gazebo. The Stevenage Women's Group enjoyed a picnic by the Lakes. Afghan families gathered for food and conversation almost a year after being evacuated from Afghanistan. And refugee families enjoyed a visit to Paradise Wildlife Park. This is just a glimpse of the many activities organised by HWR volunteers! Congratulations to Wafaa and Ali, the winners of our photo challenge, showing what healing means to them for Refugee Week 2022. All of the photos submitted were so fantastic it was really hard to choose. Wafaa and Ali will both receive small prizes for their excellent photos. Thanks to all who took part! You can see all of the photos here: https://www.hwsf.org.uk/refugee-week-2022.html
Nearly five years ago, L- came to the UK as an asylum seeker. HWR helped to support her as she worked for a masters degree in journalism, which she received this spring. Here are some of her words about her journey: I always dreamed of writing books. Back home, I had already studied [journalism] for two years while working on TV and Radio. I wanted to use my previous experience, although there was a big gap since so many years had passed. The most challenging part of the course was online classes. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to meet people and feel the ‘uni life’ properly. What I really enjoyed was feeling normal again, feeling like other people who get to have opportunities. For us asylum seekers, this is such a luxury. I want to give many thanks to Herts Welcome Refugees, especially to Carolina and Maria. I wouldn’t have made it through without their help. I am still fighting to get the right to work, and my asylum case is pending. I would definitely say to everyone not to think twice about pursuing higher education. Just do it! It is the best feeling when you achieve what you work for. I know it is not easy, but it is not impossible either. All refugees and asylum seekers have at least two things in common, we are all survivors and fighters. We cannot let our difficulties define us. We are more than that. We can do better than that. We need an administrator to work 18.5 hours per week. Come work with us! Details and application form below. Deadline for applications is 29 July.
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