As the warmth of summer bathes our days, it has brought us joyous moments and celebration, but it has also put us to the test. The passage of the Illegal Migration Bill and the decisions surrounding refugee and asylum rights has challenged us in many ways. Yet, amid these challenges, a beacon of unity and resilience shines. In Bristol, Borderlands has stood strong, weaving a tapestry of heartwarming activities, member-led initiatives, and unforgettable trips.

Let us delve into the pages of our summer journey, where each triumph and every shared smile speaks of our collective strength.

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Whats been happening in Borderlands?

It’s been a busy summer at the Welcome Centre.

Over 1200 members attended our Tuesday Drop In between April and August, with 60 plus members returning weekly to benefit from a hot meal and food donations from the Social Supermarket.

Thanks to our wonderful team of volunteers, we have cooked a variety of delicious meals bringing our community together every Tuesday, sharing cultures and expressing dedication to each other.

At Borderlands our chefs, from different corners of the world, prepare the most delicious dishes bringing flavours, colours and food variety to our Borderlands members.

More recently, the Welcome Centre has received a spike in the number of new members registering to use our services.

Over the last 6 weeks we’ve seen over 80 members attending each week, Borderlands has fortunatley

Food being served at our Welcome Centre

secured further funding to support the increased need for more food allocations and the team is thrilled to be able to continue to meet the needs of this growing demand.

Our Wednesday wellbeing activities have taken a break but are back this month. With yoga, sewing and the sleep support sessions at a pause, we have added dancing classes for women and continue to provide fitness classes for men and women. But that’s not it, soon we will provide a space for our members to cook their own meals and exchange delicious recipes!!

Staff and members at the beach trip

In the meantime, we have been making the most of the summer and have organised some socials for our volunteers as well as our traditional beach trip.

Being able to explore nature and enjoy time outdoors makes a big difference for many of our members and it’s a great opportunity to relax and get all the benefits of outdoors activities.

Here are some pictures that summarise our summer 😊.

The beginning of the Borderlands football team

Volunteer Social event, egg and spoon race

Summer has brought a flurry of activity to our Mentoring Project!

We've been hard at work recruiting and training new volunteers, and we're delighted to see the dedication and enthusiasm they bring to the table. While our waiting list remains lengthy, the prospect of new volunteers joining us soon fills us with excitement and anticipation!

But that's not all; we're thrilled to announce the revival of our peer mentoring project, where our very own members step into mentor roles. It's an empowering initiative that creates a supportive circle within our community, and we can't wait to see it flourish.

In other news, Olivia, our fantastic Mentoring Manager, is gearing up for her maternity leave. While we'll miss her during this special time, we're equally thrilled to welcome Annora as our new Mentoring Manager. Annora will be joining our team at the end of the month, and we look forward to her contributions and fresh perspective.

It’s been an exciting time for the Learning Project.

Over the summer, we took a short break giving the teaching team time to sort our resources and get ready for next year. We also made the most of the sunshine, on a trip to the beautiful Westbury Wildlife Park. Members had the opportunity to explore the grounds, volunteer in the gardens, take part in a pottery workshop and share a delicious lunch cooked by one of the Borderlands chefs.

Thanks to our fantastic volunteer teachers and teaching assistants, we have continued to offer 10 weekly classes, supporting over 60 people. We have also continued our lovely poetry reading group for people with higher levels of English. Members and volunteers come together each week to read and discuss poetry.

The teaching team took part in an excellent teaching workshop run by Zoey Exley from the Cabot Learning Federation. We enjoyed having the time to reflect on our practice and to think creatively about how to keep our classes engaging and relevant to our members.

We’ve worked hard over the summer to plan and prepare a variety of new Learning Projects for the Autumn term. We are delighted to announce that we will be running brand new weekly theatre workshops for women, Maths classes and a creative writing course (Sharing Stories).

Sharing Stories is being designed and delivered by our fantastic volunteer Leticia. She is creating a space where people from all different backgrounds, cultures and languages can come together to share their stories in various forms. We are so excited to see this new project take off!

Finally, we have been busy creating a beautiful Borderlands Library. This is a calm space away from the hustle and bustle of the Welcome Centre. Members can come and relax in the comfort of an armchair or beanbag and get lost in a good book. Donations of books always welcome!

Making mushrooms at Westbury Wildlife Park

Our creations will be exhibited in October at The Great Mushroom Make-Off: https://www.wotpots.co.uk/the-great-mushroom-make-off.html

Carlota's weekly theatre workshops are nothing short of amazing and will be running every Thursday at Borderlands.

These sessions will be filled with fun games and activities and provide a space for women to connect with each other and try new things in a supportive environment.

There will also be theatre trips and opportunities to perform.

All levels of English welcome.

Carlota has requested a shout out for any bean bags or big pillow donations that can be used in her productions - please get in contact!

Do you feel inspired and want to be part of the Borderlands family?

Get in contact or check out our website and social media pages for more information...

Staff Updates!

The past months have brought significant changes to our Borderlands family, and we're thrilled to share the updates with you.

First and foremost, a big congratulations are in order for Susi, who recently welcomed a beautiful, healthy baby girl. In light of this joyful occasion, Susi is currently on maternity leave, and we send her all our best wishes during this special time.

Stepping into the role of interim CEO in Susi's absence is Caitlin. Her

The past months have brought significant changes to our Borderlands family, and we're thrilled to share the updates with you.

Stepping into the role of interim CEO in Susi's absence is Caitlin. Her

dedication and hard work have been nothing short of commendableand and we applaud her for the seamless transition.

Additionally, we're excited to share that Olivia, our Mentoring Manager, is also preparing to embark on her own maternity journey. She's been working closely with Annora, who will be taking over the reins in Olivia's absence.

Wishing Susi, Olivia, and their growing families all the love and joy in this new chapter of their lives.

dedication and hard work have been nothing short of commendableand and we applaud her for the seamless transition.

Wishing Susi, Olivia, and their growing families all the love and joy in this new chapter of their lives.

To the whole community of Borderlands charity

It has been my privilege to have served as Chair of Trustees since the foundation in 2011 of our life-giving Charity. We have served our members whom sadly have been marginalised by our unjust and too often brutal asylum and immigration systems. I am so grateful for having been able to establish and serve Borderlands over these years.

As you know the Charity grew out of many years of work and service in this field by St Nicholas of Tolentino Church and still expresses the church’s commitment to mission and care of people of all faiths and none who come to our land and our city seeking sanctuary. You bring so many gifts and especially your courage in facing so many trials and dangers of your journey to safety. We admire you greatly. The church’s support for and love of Borderlands and its members remains steadfast.

Over these years the work and scope of services provided by Borderlands has grown immensely. This past year has seen great expansion, especially as we seek to reach out to the many people who are forced to live in the hotels while deprived of the right to work or seek their own accommodation.

But the time has come for fresh leadership and others’ skills to guide and develop this important work of love made practical and courageous. I am delighted and full of confidence as I ‘pass the baton’ on to our new Chair, Kimberlee Carstensen, and to the refreshed Board of Trustees. I want you all to know, staff, volunteers, members and Trustees of my on-going personal support and that of St Nick’s Church. We will continue championing both the work of the Charity and the cause appalling asylum and immigration system and giving whatever support the Charity might ask of me.

signed:

Rev Richard McKay

In other news...

We would love to send a huge congratulations to Michelle, whose images of research received the ‘Highly Commended’ award in the Partnerships category of the University of Bath competition.

Michelle, volunteered at Borderlands last year whilst conducting her PhD research. As part of Michelle’s findings, a photovoice project was undertaken in collaboration with 10 asylum seekers/refugees.

We would love to send a huge congratulations to Michelle, whose images of research received the ‘Highly Commended’ award in the Partnerships category of the University of Bath competition.

All the images will be on display at Bath Spa train station from

Wednesday 27th September to Wednesday 18th October 2023.

We would like to thank the wonderful SS Great Britain team for inviting us aboard their beautiful boat.

We were able to show our members around this Bristol institution, taking them to visit a part of Bristol they may not have yet discovered while learning about the boat's fascinating history.

Having the opportunity to invite members on trips like these are invaluable to our services; combatting exclusion to belonging.

We had a fabulous time celebrating with our friends at Bristol Refugee Festival.

Bristol Refugee Festival is a collaborative year-round programme of arts, cultural and educational events, bringing together communities from across Bristol and beyond to connect, share and celebrate.

Bristol Refugee Festival celebrates the contribution that refugees and asylum seekers make to the city, it helps create a better understanding of why people seek sanctuary, help overcome misconceptions and promotes successful community inclusion.

We also had the incredible opportunity to be a part of @forwardsbristol.

It was an amazing space where we connected with a diverse group of people and other like-minded organisations.

Having the space to talk, share, and educate one another was truly invaluable. It's moments like these that remind us of the power of community and collective action.

A special thanks to all the wonderful individuals who stopped by to chat, made generous donations, shared heartwarming welcome messages, and expressed interest in our work over the last few months.

Fundraising

A massive thank you to the amazing team at Charlton Nursery, Flax Bourton!

They raised an incredible £180 through a fantastic cake sale event they held for World Refugee Day.

In June, Imy, our Learning Project Manager, tackled the challenging South West Coastal Path. Imy walked from Minehead to Lands End covering over 250 miles and carrying everything on her back. Imy's journey raised an astounding £500 for Borderlands. This achievement stands as a powerful testament to the impact of individual fundraising.

If you are interested in fundraising for Borderlands please click here to check out our website and for more information!

Escape to Safelandia...

Please take note of the content warning displayed on the front page as it might not be suitable for everyone.

Tom Daly and Kate Evans have created this short comic about the asylum process here in the UK, the British history of welcoming refugees and recent legislation which makes it harder to provide humanitarian assistance to people in need.

You can view the comic here: https://www.cartoonkate.co.uk/escape-to-safelandia/

Tom works for our friend, Bristol Refugee Rights. If you would like to make a contribution please visit: www.bristolrefugeerights.org/

Tom and Kate are looking for an organisation who would be able to help fund a second print run and could also distribute them or use them in comms or awareness raising work.

Please contact: tom@bristolrefugeerights.org

Thank you for reading and sharing our vision of ...

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