Getting to know you - volunteers
And here, in their own words and pictures, are just some of the lovely people who give up their spare time to encourage local folk to be fluent in asylum.
We’ve been lucky enough to have nearly 120 volunteer speakers and project assistants working on the project, but seeing as we can’t squeeze them all onto one weeny page, we thought we’d introduce you to a few of them.
Return to the RAP staff profiles
Ahmad
Proud to come from:
I come from an open-minded family, I was brought up in my home country, Afghanistan, and I’m proud of my family!
Life before RAP:
Leading young, open-minded groups in school time, interpreting for foreigners, prepared my first poetry collection.
What brilliant helpful thing I do at RAP:
I’m a trained speaker, delivering RAP sessions to make the public aware of refugees and asylum seekers through giving them the real facts.
Stuff outside of work:
Reading books, writing poems and articles, enjoying being out with friends, love the green nature.
Refugee hero:
Albert Einstein, the noble and master-minded scientist.
Something you might not know but I do is that:
We have to respect refugees and asylum seekers and their problems, and we have to help them because they need our help.
Favourite fib that I have heard in a RAP session:
One of the funniest things I’ve ever heard in a RAP session was that 'Refugees and asylum seekers are here to have fun'!!!
Nicaise
Proud to come from:
Ivory Coast, West Africa.
Life before RAP:
Musician, and communications officer in a factory.
What brilliant helpful thing I do at RAP:
I’ve been a volunteer speaker since 2006.
Stuff outside work:
I play music with a band that I put together in Liverpool.
Refugee hero:
Einstein, of course!
Something you might not know but I do is that:
That it’s really dangerous for an asylum seeker to be deported back home.
Favourite fib that I have heard in a RAP session:
A student said to me once that refugees are people that are running away from Africa.
Ikraam
Proud to come from:
Born in Somalia, brought up in Somalia, went to school in Somalia up to secondary level.
Life before RAP:
Bringing up two children, going to college.
What brilliant helpful thing I do at RAP:
I’ve been a volunteer speaker since the project started.
Stuff outside work:
I’m a trainee legal adviser.
Refugee hero:
Brunel – his father fled France during the Revolution.
Something you might not know but I do is that:
In Somalia, you can just drop in on family and friends whenever you like without informing them in advance.
Favourite fib that I have heard in a RAP session:
'Our country is not our country anymore!'
Ingrid
Proud to come from:
Bristol/Harare. I love both.
Life before RAP:
I make films. Had to leave Zimbabwe after 18 years. So now I make films here.
What brilliant helpful thing they do at RAP:
I’ve been a volunteer speaker since the project started.
Stuff outside work:
Walking, biking, watching films, making films, teaching English.
Refugee hero:
Mark Chagall who paints about love.
Something you might not know but I do is that:
My father was a refugee.
Favourite fib that I have heard in a RAP session:
The one I hear most widely is 'They get priority over us for council housing'.
