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Finding a new passion in supporting others: Rahmat’s story

27th February 2025NewsTagged , ,

Our volunteers play a vital role in supporting refugees, asylum seekers, and migrants as they navigate life in the UK. From language lessons to practical advice, their dedication makes a real difference in helping people build new lives. In this blog, Rahmat, one of our incredible volunteers, shares his journey—from moving to the UK himself to now supporting others in their own resettlement. 

“I’m a retired Finance Director. I am married with two daughters and four grandchildren. I was born in Iran and came to England in 1970 to go to university before training as a Chartered Accountant. We lived and worked in and around London until 1997 when we moved to Brighton, where my wife is from—well, Hove, actually!

The first few years after retirement I was busy travelling, helping with the grandchildren and gardening, but I was increasingly aware of the serious problems migrants faced on arrival in the UK and thought that I might be able to help in some way.  

When I arrived in England, I spoke English and was well supported in many ways and yet I found it quite difficult to settle in a new country on my own, away from friends and family. I could only imagine how much harder it was for new migrants some of whom had arrived here under very difficult circumstances, had little or no English and had minimal resources available to them. That is when I offered to volunteer with ViE. 

I spent the first few weeks at ViE helping with the food bank before I was asked to help an Afghan couple who’d arrived here after many months of hardship via migrant camps in Pakistan. They’d had to leave Afghanistan after the Taliban arrived and the UK forces withdrew from the country. 

After all these years, I still remember some of my mother language, Farsi and the migrant couple spoke Dari, a dialect of Farsi, so it seemed that I might be able to help. My role was mainly to teach them English, act as liaison between them and the Voices in Exile case workers and as an informal translator when required. 

I use free ESOL resources available on the internet to prepare a weekly lesson plan, to help them with English vocabulary, speaking or grammar, but we also find time to discuss their day to day life here, address problems they might have with utilities, the banks, their landlord, etc. for their case worker to deal with, as well as their old lives and family they have left behind in Afghanistan.  

It’s now just over two years since I started working with them and I hope that they are a little better prepared to manage their lives independently.”

A photos of a man, Rahmat, wearing a t shirt, shorts and a cap smiling at the camera

Voices in Exile volunteer, Rahmat

Volunteers Week 2024: A history of volunteering at Voices in Exile

1st June 2024EventsTagged

From Monday 3rd to Sunday 9th June, we’re celebrating Volunteers Week — a time to recognise the contributions that volunteers make to organisations like Voices in Exile, as well as other charities, social organisations and groups across the UK.  

Volunteers’ Week was first established in 1984, and since then it has grown in popularity and is celebrated by many charities across the UK, with this year representing it’s 40th anniversary.  

As well as recognising the contribution that millions of volunteers make to society, the initiative also highlights the many benefits that volunteering also brings for those who do it. From building connections and learning new skills, to improving wellbeing and uncovering new talents, volunteering is a highly rewarding experience for those who get involved.  

Throughout the week, we want to highlight the positive impact that volunteers have for our service users, staff, and local community through donating their time, effort and talents.  

Read on to learn more about the history of volunteering at Voices in Exile, and how volunteers support us in delivering our services.  

Volunteers at the heart of Voices in Exile since our early days  

Did you know that Voices in Exile started out 19 years ago as a grassroots organisation completely run by volunteers?  

The organisation was set up in 2005 to address the urgent need for practical support and legal advice for refugees and vulnerable migrants in Brighton and Sussex.  

In the early days, we were run entirely by volunteers, with different backgrounds and skillsets, who donated their time to enable us to deliver our services. We became registered as a charity in 2009, and became OISC-accredited in 2011, so that we could deliver immigration advice and casework up to Level 2. We now work with around 700 clients a year, providing specialist legal advice to those otherwise unable to access justice, as well as many other holistic support services.  

 A growing network of volunteers support service users in many ways  

As Voices in Exile has grown over the years, we’ve taken on a team of paid staff to meet our evolving needs, but we still work with a network of 55+ volunteers to support us with service delivery.  

Our volunteers, several of whom are also service users, provide additional capacity in every area of our work, such as: 

  • Casework and immigration: helping with paperwork and accompanying our clients to appointments; supporting with immigration applications  
  • Skills and employability: English practice, CV writing, job searches, enrolment on training courses 
  • Food bank: processing donations, packing food, providing destitution information, driving to pick up and drop off deliveries  
  • Groups: encouraging participation, friendship, integration and information 
  • Resettlement: preparing accommodation for new arrivals, opening bank accounts, GP registration 
  • Communications and events: support with marketing, social media, website management and organising or running events  
  • Finance and admin: office support with finance and admin to keep things running smoothly  

Offering our service users the chance to get involved with volunteering   

Our evolution from a grassroots organisation — in which service users chose the charity’s name and aims — has established a collaborative approach that involves our clients in both developing and delivering our services. No one can better understand the needs and experiences of refugees, migrant and displaced people than those who have lived it themselves.  

Our service users are encouraged to get involved with volunteering with Voices in Exile if they would like to. Supporting and training people to become volunteers can help develop English skills, build confidence, boost employability, and expand social networks.  

 Supporting our volunteers to make a positive impact  

Our Volunteer Coordinator, liaises with staff to assess current needs and then recruits, trains and supports our network of volunteers. As well as making sure that Voices in Exile staff have the teams of volunteers they need, Sue works closely with the volunteers themselves to make sure that their experience is rewarding and positive too.   

Our Volunteer Coordinator commented, “We rely heavily on our volunteer base, and I strive to make each and every volunteer feel included, appreciated, and supported. I believe volunteering opportunities should be an accessible path for everyone to get involved in their local community and support the integration of service users into the world of volunteering and the benefits that this offers to them.”  

Thanks to our network of volunteers, who successfully support our core staff, our capacity to help clients is greatly increased. This means more people make progress towards secure immigration status and are reunited with family in the UK. It means that more people have access to accommodation, food, financial support, healthcare, education and training, skills development, English classes, technology and knowledge of local services.  

Celebrating the many benefits of volunteering  

People are drawn to volunteering for many different reasons. For some, it’s a chance to build confidence, develop new skills and make new connections. For others, it might be a way to take action to support a cause they care about or use their expertise to make a positive impact in society.  

 One of our volunteers, Aisha, said “I chose to volunteer with Voices in Exile because as an immigrant myself I feel an affinity with refugees and asylum seekers. I find it rewarding supporting my clients, giving them more confidence.”.  

Another volunteer, Garry, commented, “The reward is in supporting refugees to continue their lives, in the UK, to the best of their abilities, feeling they have positive support if they need and in balancing out a little, the negative environment here.” 

And another volunteer said, “The sense of community is a significant benefit of volunteering here – with volunteers and staff members around you who truly care about asylum seekers. I am excited to be a part of this community.” 

 

Whatever path leads you to volunteering, the benefits and rewards are significant. This Volunteers Week, and every other week, we celebrate our amazing volunteers for the invaluable contributions they make to our organisation.