Derry Strabane Civic Action for Refugees

Help Them Live Again Derry Strabane Civic Action for Refugees

www.derrystrabane.com/refugees

The Derry Strabane Civic Action Group for refugees is one of my Mayoral initiatives.

As a multi-agency strategic group we are showing how local organisations can work together on providing a structured welcome for Syrian refugees being settled in our

Help Them Live Again Would you like to help Syrian Refugees coming to the Derry City and Strabane District Council area?

Imagine your family arrived, traumatised and bereaved, in a new country. You don’t speak the language. You don’t understand how anything works.

You don’t know your way around.

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Derry Strabane Civic Action for Refugees

city and district.

This booklet explains how individuals and organisations can help us in this effort.

I would encourage you to read the information and consider how as an individual or through a community, school, business, or faith group you might wish to get involved.

All your family possessions fit in one bag – but you are still hopeful of a new start, safety and a welcome.

A small number of about 10 Syrian families will be coming to live in our local area in the spring.

They will arrive with practically nothing. If you are interested in helping them feel welcome, the Derry City and Strabane District Council is calling for any interested community groups, faith groups, schools or businesses to volunteer to put together a ‘Starter Pack’ to donate to a Syrian family on arrival here.

Help tackle poverty

Refugee on the island of Kos - Š Amnesty International

The Mayor’s Civic Action Group For Refugees would also like to highlight that poverty exists in many forms in the Derry City and Strabane District Council area. Many local organisations including food banks, charity shops, homeless charities and other local charities do excellent work with those in need locally and would also welcome your support and general donations.

Please contact them directly for further details.

Petition To add your support to Syrian refugees coming to the council area please sign our petition on www.derrystrabane.com/ refugees

www.derrystrabane.com/refugees

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What packs are needed?

All items listed need to be new. Importantly, this is not a call for general donations, second hand clothes, furniture, cash or temporary housing.

We cannot accept cash or any second hand goods, clothes or bric-a-brac. Individuals can donate vouchers if they wish.

• Household Starter Packs (New Kitchen and bathroom cleaning essentials, tissues, toilet roll, towels, tea towels, tin-opener, utensils etc) • Childrens Starter Packs (New toys, colouring in, pens, crayons, paper, glue, plasticine, blue tack, jigsaws, picture books, learning to read books, school uniform shop vouchers) • Medical/Hygiene Starter Packs (Toothbrushes, Toothpaste, Soap, Shampoo, Conditioner, razors, shaving foam, deodorant, feminine hygiene, plasters, brush, comb, first aid kit, nappies etc ) • English Language Family Starter Packs (Amazon vouchers or direct purchase of Bilingual Arabic/English and EAL resources) • Warmth Starter Packs (Oil vouchers, electric vouchers or whatever heating relates to the houses, bed linen – sheets, blankets, duvets, pillows, umbrella) • Clothes Starter Packs (Vouchers for clothes and shoes shops – no second hand clothes please, small amounts of new basic clothes essentials eg. Socks, underwear, jumper, T-shirt) • Basic Food Starter Packs (Cooking Oil, rice, pasta, tins, fruit juice, tea, coffee, salt, pepper, sugar, white vinegar, flour, long life milk etc) 4

Derry Strabane Civic Action for Refugees

• Syrian Food Starter Packs (Olive Oil, rice, chickpeas, lemon juice, garlic paste, tomato purée, tahini, spices, dates, dried beans, pistachios, walnuts, green lentils, olives, dried apricots) • Syrian Fresh Food Starter Packs* (Pitta bread, aubergine, cucumber, onions, peppers, spring onions, tomatoes, courgettes, grapes, oranges, lemons, chillis, butter, eggs, milk, plain yoghurt, hummus, mozzarella or ricotta cheese) *Delivered at 1-2 days notice • Sports Starter Packs (Football, basketball, goggles, tennis rackets and balls, swingball, sports shop vouchers etc) • Technology Support Starter Packs (Basic new household electrical equipment eg. Hairdryer and communications equipment or relevant vouchers

Contact us for further details How can my group help?

To volunteer to put together a pack please: 1. Contact niamh.scullion@derrystrabane.com to register that you wish to put together a starter pack.

Or telephone Niamh or Jackie on tel:02871253253 ext 8223 or 8225.

2. Register for a specific pack – we need 10 of each type in total.

3. Leave your pack in a box or hamper at Derry City and Strabane District Council Offices either in the Shared Future Centre (Waterside) or Strabane – address on back cover.

4. Add a welcome card to your pack to personalise it from your group.

5. Please note in the event of oversubscription council reserves the right to donate any additional items received to local homeless initiatives through the Council for the Homeless.

www.derrystrabane.com/refugees

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Open Call Open Call for locally resident Arabic speakers

About Syrian Refugees coming here

If you are fluent or can communicate at even a basic level in Arabic please contact us. There will be a need for informal interpreters/facilitators and befrienders. There is also a possibility of paid informal interpretation work on a freelance basis – further details available on request.

• 20,000 Syrian refugees will come to the UK over the next years under the Syrian vulnerable person relocation scheme.

• Refugees are chosen by the UN from refugee camps in countries around Syria.

• The most vulnerable and at risk are prioritised including women, youth, children, disabled, LGBT, those needing urgent medical care and survivors of torture and violence.

• A series of robust identification, medical and security checks are carried out prior to arrival here.

Open Call for volunteer qualified EAL tutors If you are trained to teach English as an additional language and have time to volunteer in an informal befriending/ conversational English role please contact us. Further details available on request.

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Derry Strabane Civic Action for Refugees

For more information see www.derrystrabane.com under ‘Mayors Initiatives’.

About Syrian Refugees coming here.

The group expected in the north-west are likely to have a similar profile to the group that arrived in Belfast preChristmas. That group had 51 people including 10 Muslim and Christian families. Ages ranged from a young baby to people in their 40’s. 11 were aged under 5.

Even before this scheme Northern Ireland already has refugees and asylum seekers living in it, including people from Syria.

www.derrystrabane.com/refugees

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Help Them Live Again Please register from 1st February 2016 onwards to agree which pack you are providing!

You can leave your pack in a box or hamper at either of these venues: GR Team, Top floor, Shared Future Centre, Waterside, Derry~Londonderry BT472DA.

GR Team, 47 Derry Road, Strabane, Tyrone, BT828DY

The office will be open for these donations from: 1st March 2016 – 16th March 2016 9am – 5pm Monday – Friday.

The office is also available during February and March for individuals to drop in vouchers during normal working hours.

This information is available upon request in a number of formats including large print, Braille, PDF, audio formats (CD, MP3, DAISY) and minority languages. telephone: 028 71 253 253 text phone: 028 7137 6646 or e-mail: equality@derrycityandstrabanedistrict.com 8

Derry Strabane Civic Action for Refugees