Stories

Photo credit: federivas.com September saw the triumphant return of the ‘Migrant Connections Festival’. Hosted by Migrant Connections, alongside SLRA as a partner, the festival serves as a platform to celebrate...

This story is written by our intern, Magda, who is with our team for a whole year. She works closely with our women’s group and is highly motivated and enthusiastic...

Our intern, Filip, interviewed our Nest Project Coordinator, Rebeka. The Nest Project started in August 2022 and is one of SLRA’s newest projects.   Take 3 minutes to learn more about...

In June 2022 Lambeth Council announced their ambition to apply to become a ‘Borough of Sanctuary’ – a welcoming and inclusive borough for asylum seekers, refugees and migrants. As the...

written by our one-year intern, Hannah. During my one-year internship at SLRA I had the chance to become part of the ´Men’s group. They meet in person every Tuesday afternoon...

written by Lisa and Yasmine (9 years old SLRA member) In August, around 30 people – families and adults – made their way from crowded and busy London to the...

written by Amanda, community leader and volunteer and Lisa It is a tradition at SLRA that during our summer break, in which we do not have our weekly sessions, we...

This week, we met with our three dedicated and wonderful English teachers: Anita, Bel and Tracey. They have volunteered with our organisation for a few years now and during that...

written by Tamara Astor, community engagement worker On the 23rd of June, our women’s group met online due to the strikes. One of the ‘Simple Acts’ suggestions for Refugee Week 2022...

On the 16th of June, we joined the ‘Solidarity knows no Borders Network’s call for a nation-wide action week against the Hostile Environment which was declared ten years ago. Subsequent immigration...

written by Francess Horton SLRA’s care experienced young people were amongst 100+ young people in parliament on June 22nd for #ItsOurCare Day of Action. Three of our young people from...

At the end of April, there was the Lambeth Citizen Assembly with the local candidates for the local election. Our community leaders and staff members prepared our task around the...

the blog entry is written by Lucy who volunteers with SLRA for more than a year and supports the Youth Casework Team. Read how her journey with SLRA is: My...

Written by Bethelem – Daughter of an active member of our women’s group and joined many Kids parties on Zoom. The trip was lovely and epic, we got to craft...

Blog entry written by Shatha – volunteer, community leader and active member of our women’s group; and Lisa On March the 12th we hosted in collaboration with The Feminist Library...

Interviewee: Carla, community leader / Interview: Lisa / Interview via What’s app What was your motivation to join the Community Organising Course?“I joined because I wanted to gain a new...

Interviewer: Lisa, SLRA volunteer; Interviewee: Joseph Joseph is an active member of our men’s group and joined our 4-Week Community Organising Course in February facilitated by CitizensUk. He is also...

Interviewer: Lisa, SLRA volunteer; Interviewee: Ornela Ornela is an active youth client who regularly joins our Youth Club and supported our campaign “Taking Care”. Ornela joined our 4-Week Community Organising...

Interviewer: Lisa, volunteer at SLRA; Interviewee: Marry Mary is an active member of our women’s group and joined our 4-Week Community Organising Course in February facilitated by CitizensUk. I interviewed...

Blog entry written by Florence – a member of our women’s group The SLRA women group trip to Garden Museum was an exciting trip for me and my experience was...

You are not alone! There are refugees everywhere and we are with you.” SLRA Women’s group participants message to those fleeing Ukraine. The scenes we are seeing from the war...

Community Organising Course with Citizens UK  During February, around 30 people we work with, joined our community organising course facilitated by Abigal and Elsie from Citizens UK. Every Thursday morning...

written by Hannah (ARSP intern) On Tuesdays the Woodlawn Centre next to the SLRA office becomes a social space for migrants and asylum seeker. Last year, we started the Social...

SLRA is a proud member of the Lambeth Citizens Alliance. Citizens UK is a community organising network of many different local organisations, charities, churches, and schools. They run different campaigns...

Come and see our exhibition, 4-25 March! The SLRA Women Group’s quilt will be displayed at the South London Gallery in a group exhibition ‘We are a group of excellent...

written by Francess and Lisa On Care Day – the 18th of February 2022 – we finally launched our report together with Coram Children’s Legal Centre: ‘Taking Care: How local...

Blog entry written by Sarah and Lisa At SLRA, we are extremely proud to have Sarah, our resident counsellor, who offers private, free counselling session for internal referrals. Counselling and...

This blog entry was written by our Immigration Manager, Boris. Who is a Zambrano carer?   The term ‘Zambrano carer’ comes from a case decided in the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in 2011, involving a couple who were non-EU...

This blog is written by Thomas who is one of our amazing volunteers at SLRA! I have now been volunteering at the SLRA for a little over a month and...

written by Sophie Beech In May 2021, SLRA secured funding from the Greater London Authority (GLA) to work in partnership over the next twelve months with local homelessness support services...

#LNDChallengePoverty #povertyfreelondon #ifnotnowwhen London Challenge Poverty Week is a London-wide campaign that aims to shine a light on the experiences of those living in poverty in the city, show what...

Last Saturday, the Woodlawn Center next to our office in Streatham was changed into a magical and colourful place full of joy, relaxation, and community. Many people came from all...

Francess Horton interviewed by Lisa Merker In the beginning of this year, the Department for Education published an independent review of Children’s social care. The evident was that children and...

To celebrate South London Refugee Association’s 30th anniversary Celestine Agbo, our Foodbank coordinator, will run an incredible 262 miles over 10 days – a full marathon each and every day starting on Saturday...

In the last three weeks, the youth group was busy exploring London and going on many adventures!   It’s tradition that over the summer break, SLRA staff and all of the young people who attend the Youth Club...

written by Francess, Youth Participation and Policy Officer In January 2021, the Department for Education launched its independent review of children’s social care which was set out to radically reform...

written by Sarah, one of the ESOL teachers After almost 86 online lessons on Mondays and Thursday over 16 months of Lockdowns the ESOL team finally got to reunite with...

This weekend the SLRA base was transformed into a film set, as we went about capturing the footage for the NRPF videos which have taken shape over months of collaborative...

Take your chance and visit the women’s group community quilt that many of the SLRA women group members have made last year during lockdown, at the Woodfield Recreation Ground.   We’ve already wrote quite several stories about our community quilt that...

On a lovely Thursday in half-term, eleven young people and staff members met in the morning to start their journey from Lambeth to South Hackney to go on a new adventure. Our destination was the Labernum Boat...

Written by Tamara On the 1st June, we began a new era of our Saturday Kids’ Club on a Tuesday.  It was half-term and restrictions had lifted enough for us...

Written by Amanda  In a recent Friday session facilitated by Lisa and Tamara, the women’s group were tasked with getting creative and updating the SLRA manifesto that was written June 2020. We...

SLRA is excited to invite you to our virtual report launch about access to support & advice for migrant families facing destitution as a result of hostile immigration policies. When:...

Since February, SLRA’s Men’s Group have got together online every Wednesday. Around seven attendees meet up each week and we have quickly grown as a supportive unit!   Some of the...

Over the past month, there have been several reports in the media of the numbers of asylum seekers who remain accommodated in hotels, more than one year after the Home...

Many of you will have seen the Government’s ‘New Plan for Immigration’ which sets to overhaul the UK asylum system. At SLRA we have been working hard with colleagues across...

Last year, when the Lockdown started, the SLRA Women’s Group decided to make their own community quilt. A quilt is a large piece of fabric made up of smaller pieces...

Since the end of September, SLRA’s youth club project, Global Youth, has re-started its in-person sessions. Around 12 young people have been joining the youth club each week. The youth club is...

In the beginning of December 2020, the UK started with the vaccination program for COVID-19. Since we live in a pandemic, there has been much (mis-)information around and about COVID-19...

This morning we held a meeting where we worked through the itinerary for our upcoming NRPF awareness workshop next Wednesday on 10th February 2021. A few of the SLRA team...

Two weeks ago, Samina, a member of the consultation team for Guy’s and St. Thomas’ Charity, facilitated a listening exercise with our women group. The aim of the session was...

Our weekly ZOOM Kids’ parties with our most amazing kids facilitator Tamara Astor have been running since mid-March and will continue to cheer us up throughout the grey and cold...

At South London Refugee Association (SLRA), we have not only continued our immigration advice services remotely during the COVID19 lockdown, but also looked at ways to make people still feel...

Our staff and volunteers at the SLRA work on such a personal level, they often end up bringing more to the role than even they expected. Tamara is one of...

Our clients are at diverse stages on the journey to lay new foundations for themselves and their families here in the United Kingdom; seeking safety and build independent lives for...

An important part of what we do here at the SLRA, is liaising with other charities, businesses, local community groups and wonderful individuals; to adapt to the unexpected circumstances during...

One of the SLRAs’ most recent recruits is the charmingly candid, Mick. Being only four weeks into his time with us, Mick serves as a Volunteer Driver during the COVID...

Here at the SLRA, we assist clients from origins that span the globe, and who have so many intricacies in their needs surrounding asylum, immigration and refuge. If you were...

The last weeks since the COVID19 Corona virus outbreak have been very challenging for all of us. But while we had to come up with completely new ways to continue...