Determined not to leave Mums and children in limbo during lockdown, Asha swiftly decided to maintain contact by phone, text, and WhatsApp. Besides regular weekly calls, children are sent a story read by a member of staff and an uplifting song.  One song was Imagine, the theme of this year’s Refugee Week.  Adults and children

A MESSAGE FROM KEVIN SAUNTRY, Chair of the Board of Trustees Throughout this bulletin you can see the great work being carried out during this crisis, a crisis that has affected the way of life of us all. I felt it worth sharing with you the personal cost that comes with care and dedication for

We hope that everyone is well and staying as safe as possible. We would like to assure you that whilst we may not be together we are continuing to provide support to our asylum seekers in the best way possible and we are thankful for the ongoing support of our volunteers, both practical and remote.

Organising home delivery of food for families and single parents is a priority.  Deliveries take place on Monday and Thursday and on Thursdays food is given to whoever calls at the centre between 10.30 and 12.30. Asha continues to receive food from regular donors and from Tesco and Aldi.  Maureen obtained a good supply from

We need money to sustain our food distribution service.Asha remains a hive of activity but from homes and twice a week from the car park which, observing all the proper protocols, becomes a food distribution centre! Twenty-three users were given food on Monday and 19 on Thursday.Lydia received a desperate call from a newly arrived

It was with a heavy heart that Asha bowed to the inevitable and closed except for two hours a day on two days a week. This is so the 100+ men, women and families who call each week for food can continue to do so. At present Asha has not been able to buy-in supplies

Women, men and children from across the world came together to celebrate International Women’s Day at an event hosted by Asha. The women enjoyed relaxation workshops, yoga, hand massages and henna hand-painting, while children decorated a plant-pot, designed a kite and drew pictures of inspirational women in their lives at the RVS in Hanley. Guest

Introduced and facilitated by Godefroid, fifteen Asha users divided into two groups and were asked to identify acceptable and unacceptable behaviour ‘back home’ contrast this with what may be acceptable or unacceptable here in the UK.  Alcohol and drunkenness, sexual consent, rape, grooming and touching as well as sexual identity and trans gender issues were

Trinity Church Leek has long been a supporter of Asha and was delighted to invite our African drummer friends to contribute to a concert in aid of Act21, a local charity which provides services for young people in the area. Their playing and singing was enthusiastically received and resulted in an impromptu session with one