By Karin Modig

For refugees and asylum seekers arrival in Britain can be a daunting prospect. Asylum seekers, for example, are not allowed to work for the first 12 months of their application - they are forced to rely on state support, which is set at 30% below the normal level of Income Support.

Volunteering can be a great way for refugees and asylum seekers to improve their English and gain experience of working practices in this country. And services delivered by volunteers, such as mentoring, can also help the process of adapting to life in a new country.

Mentoring

Glenn Brooks started volunteering through Timebank's Time Together scheme, matching volunteers with refugees in a mentor/mentee relationship.  The project aims to build relationships between British people and refugees, helping them to integrate more fully.

Despite being slightly apprehensive about whether this would be the right project for him, Glenn went to the training programme and found himself enjoying it. He was matched with Belinda Mbala from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

She remembers the first time they met. "It was really formal," she says. "We didn't know each other; we didn't know what would happen next." Although Glenn admits to having been really nervous, Belinda thought he was really friendly.

The initial awkwardness was soon overcome and through their year-long project Glenn and Belinda became good friends. Their official mentoring relationship ended in January, but they have stayed in touch since.

Mentoring is just one of many opportunities that exist for volunteering with refugees and asylum seekers. Other opportunities on do-it.org.uk include interpreting, working in day centres, cooking and administrative work.

Opportunities for refugees and asylum seekers

Refugees and asylum seekers are free to apply for any volunteering opportunity, but there are also specific projects aimed at helping them to volunteer.

The Refugee Project at Volunteer Centre Westminster (VCW), for example, aims to build refugees and asylum seekers' confidence and help them integrate into society by getting them into volunteering.

"One of the main aims is to help people get the confidence to get a paid job," explains Johannes Hagos, who runs the project, "and the paid job comes when you integrate with society. Many refugees stay with people from their own country, we are trying to build a stronger sense of a wider community."

Johannes should know what he is talking about. He is a refugee from Eritrea, and did volunteer work himself when he first came to this country. He is certain that volunteering helped him getting paid work.

At the VCW offices potential volunteers can get help with job search, tips on interview techniques and training. Then, based upon their individual skills, they will be placed with a suitable organisation.

The project has been a massive success. Their target was to help 86 people over three years, but the numbers of people that have been getting involved has now passed 400. Most people, Johannes believes, would like to do something, and with projects such as these they get the help and direction they need.

One of the people to have benefited from the project is Maryan Cisman, a refugee from Somalia who has been in the UK since 2002. It was the Job Centre that sent her to meet Johannes. "I told him that I wanted to work," Maryan says, "but that my English was not good enough, and that I wanted to volunteer." She is currently doing voluntary work for about 20 hours each week in three different organizations.

Despite experience as an office manager, fluency in Italian, and a good level of English, Maryan has struggled to find a job. She says she is tired of not getting anywhere, and that she would love to get a job as soon as possible. At the same time, she is finding voluntary work helpful. "I feel good about myself and I get experience, and I help people which makes me happy," she says. "It's giving me the chance to be part of the community, and I am helping other people to integrate."

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