We have an amazing opportunity to partner with Pathways to Independence and Young Roots, two organisation which work with unaccompanied minors from 16-18 years in and around London, Croydon, Redhill and Brighton.

SHINE PROGRAMME
SHINE is our signature personal development programme for girls and women. We want to train new female facilitators to deliver the programme to refugee girls, for which we will be running three Training Days in London in 2018. The first day is on Saturday 3 March 2018 in Farringdon. For more information and to register, see the SHINE Training Day page.

Also, Pathways to Independence currently have 9 girls (aged 16-18yrs) living in a shelter in Brighton. We have the opportunity to run the ShineGirl programme with them. Venue, date and times are to be confirmed but we would love to know of any women who would be able to commit to running Shine on a weekly basis and travel down to Brighton. We also need Tigrinya, Amharic and Kurdish
translators (female) to help with this programme.

FOOTBALL UNITED
We have started a fortnightly football club with the unaccompanied minors in Croydon and our youth groups. Our goal is to connect with these young refugees around the universal game of football! This helps them to build confidence & develop relationships with young people their own age who live locally, helping them to be a part of their community. A 5 or 7-a-side pitch is being rented fortnightly to make sure we have a place to go to, and we are currently looking for volunteer coaches.

There is also an amazing (paid!) coaching opportunity with our partner Young Roots in Willesden Junction, every Thursday from 17:30-18:30. Expectations: start within a month; run engaging, good-quality training sessions; able to be the referee when playing a game. When the coach is hired, we will be able to start the project and engage volunteers.

WORKSHOPS
Through our partnership with Refugee Council, we are soon starting new workshops in North London. Speak to us if you are interested in leading activities in the areas of sports, arts, finance and anything you would like to propose. We would especially like to encourage guys to step up in order to provide positive male role models to young refugees.

DIY PROJECTS
The unaccompanied minors in Croydon live in independent housing in 4 different locations with 5 youth in each house, along with a house in Redhill that houses 5 boys. We have the opportunity to refurbish/kit-out these houses by doing DIY, painting, cleaning and bringing in some new items. We need painters, decorators, interior designers or really anyone who is gifted in making a house a home!

WELCOME PACKS
Last year we sent 150 Welcome Packs to young refugees who arrived to the UK with no family and with just the clothes on their back. From the feedback we get, it’s so much more than just a gift. It provides a warm welcome and a sense of value for them, knowing they’re not alone as they start life here. We are always looking for donations and have set up an Amazon list to give you the opportunity to contribute. To donate go to Hillsong.co.uk/welcomepacks.