Refugee Women's Development Project in wind-down phase

Friday, 30 July 2010 13:55

The Refugee Women’s Development Project (RWDP) at Northern Refugee Centre is in a wind-down phase. It is due to end late August / September 2010. Unfortunately we have not been able to secure funding to continue the work. We will continue to write funding bids and hopefully will be able to continue the work at a future date.

NRC wishes to give tribute to the women volunteer workers, many of whom are seeking sanctuary themselves, who have supported the project and given their time, skills and expertise to it. They demonstrate the dignity, creativity and ability of refugee women.
There is still a lot of excellent work around refugee women’s issues. Below is a selection of projects to look out for: 
  • Women asylum seekers together (WAST) groups – ‘WAST women: We are often in vulnerable situations - isolated, traumatised, in ill health, facing destitution, homelessness, and deportation. But we refuse to be invisible and we are making our voice heard.’ http://www.wast.org.uk/
  • Rights of Women – ‘a women’s voluntary organisation committed to informing, educating and empowering women concerning their legal rights’.
  • Oxfam’s ‘Routes to Solidarity’ project – which aims to ‘create a stronger black and minority ethnic (BME) women’s sector, with increased strategic and influencing power, particularly in the North of England.’
  • The Women’s Project at Asylum Aid which aims to ‘enable women seeking asylum in the UK to obtain protection and security, to maintain their dignity and to be treated with respect during the asylum process.’ Join the +200 organisations, including Amnesty International, that have signed up to the ‘Charter of Rights of Women seeking asylum’.
  • Refugee Council’s work with women and its Vulnerable Women’s Project. ‘The project works with women who have been the victims of rape and sexual violence in their countries of origin and here in the UK.’
  • Refugee Action’s Women’s Development Project.
  • Northern Refugee Centre’s women’s conversation groups and women-friendly advice service (pdf).
This is in addtion to all the many vital support services which exist, including women only conversation groups, voluntary self-help groups, community groups and organisations working to empower and support refugee women to mention.