ABOUT US
Empowering Refugees and Asylum Seekers to be active agents in change
ABOUT US
Empowering Refugees and Asylum Seekers to be active agents in change
Our Members
Our members are community groups set up and run by people who are refugees and asylum seekers to support other refugees and asylum seekers who live across the North East region. They are known as Refugee-led Community Organisations (‘RCO’s). 114 RCOs have joined our organisation since we began in 2003.
Go to our Members page for profiles of our currently active members.
Our Trustees
We are governed by a Board of Trustees, who are elected by and from the membership.
Our Trustees share the experience of exile, the challenge of starting life again in the UK, and the motivation to lead action to support others.
Alice, our current Chairperson
Our current Trustees are
- Chairperson Alice Mupaya, The4Cs
- Asadollah Ibrahimi
- Mohamed Ali, Safe Space Hartlepool
- Sara Muzaffar, Peace of Mind North East
- Nishanthini Mayurathan
- Riada Kullani, Diversity Inside Us
- Samsoudini Moussa, Digital Inclusion NE
Since our first Committee was elected in 2003, 57 members have served as Trustees – 27 women and 30 men from 26 countries of origin. We sincerely thank them for their valuable contribution and especially to the 10 members who have served as Chair: Amir, Dr Mohamed, Bini, Chester, Elizabeth, Mustaffa, Karen, Larry, Elham and Ramatoulie.
Former Chairpersons reunite on our 20th anniversary
Trustees are elected for 3 years. They chose which Trustee will serve as Chair. They serve the interests of the whole membership and do not represent their RCO at meetings of the Board.
Our Staff
Our Staff provide support to our members across the region and organise our activities based on the priorities set by our members.
Our Constitution
Our constitution was signed in March 2003 by 17 founding member groups.
We became a registered charity in 2004.
In 2012, we were awarded Community Organisation of the Year at the Tees Valley BME Achievement Awards.
In 2013, we won the Outstanding Small Organisation award at the North East Voluntary and Community Sector Awards. Watch the film here.
Our Funding
We raise funds to support action and deliver change on the priorities identified by our members.
We receive funding from Charitable Foundations that support the inclusion of disadvantaged or marginalised voices, equality, social and economic inclusion and social justice. We may occasionally take on a commission for specific piece of work where it matches our aims.
It is an honour to have been one of the Millfield House Foundation’s Strategic Partner organisations. We are very grateful for the support they have given us over 16 years.
We are grateful to all those who have funded our work, including The National Lottery Charitable Foundation, The Community Foundation for Tyne & Wear and Northumberland, Comic Relief, The Ben & Jerry Foundation, The Northern Rock Foundation, Arts Council England, Lloyds TSB Foundation, Royal Bank of Scotland, the Police & Crime Commissioners for Cleveland and for Northumbria.
Our Latest Annual Review
Click here to read about our most recent work
How we began
Our organisation grew out of a project within the North of England Refugee Service (NERS). From 2000 to 2001, NERS led the project ‘A Trans-national Network: Hearing the voices of Refugees in Policy and Practice in the European Union’ for the European Union. The project’s findings emphasised the necessity of establishing effective mechanisms and structures to hear and act upon the experiences of refugees.
We champion peer support
We support refugees and asylum seekers who take the lead in bringing change to their communities. We support people who are mobilisers, activists and advocates for their community.