Migrant Action

Empowerment Advocacy Justice

Migrant Action volunteers: Making a real difference

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Migrant Action volunteers: Making a real difference

At Migrant Action, we recognise the right, agency and desire that people have to participate in the life of their communities through volunteering. Volunteering is an instrument of solidarity and shared humanity. Migrant Action highly values immensely the diverse contribution volunteers make in every aspect of the organisation.

Migrant Action is committed in supporting, enabling, celebrating and increasing opportunities for volunteering. Volunteers are welcomed to apply their creative and diverse skills, knowledge and experiences to enhance the organisation’s work. Volunteers constitute a vital strategic partnership between Migrant Action and local community playing a central role in service delivery, fundraising, networking, communications and overall success.

Following a review of Migrant Action’s communication strategy, our volunteers are helping to set out and implement a new proactive communications and fundraising strategy for the organisation.

Migrant Action volunteers; Bailey, Megan, Lina, Celeste in strategy session with Julia (MA Trustee) & Fidelis.

Also, Harriet joined a team of volunteers in helping vulnerable migrants in the refugee/migrant camp in Calais.  Harriet and the team spent 2 days in Calais working with Help Refugees to provide basic humanitarian assistance to the refugees and vulnerable migrants. Through volunteering within the organisation, in the community or abroad, our volunteers put in action the values, goals and vision of Migrant Action. We appreciate and celebrate the fantastic work of all our volunteers.

Harriet and her team in the refugee/migrant camp in Calais. Listen to her inspirational podcast on our Facebook page linked below and support Migrant Action’s work.

https://www.facebook.com/323559251344384/posts/715278792172426/

 

Happy New Year from Migrant Action

Dear friends of Migrant Action,

In a few hours, we will be saying ‘good-bye’ to 2021 and ‘welcome’ to 2022. Thank you for your solidarity and support helping to strengthen Migrant Action’s advocacy and pursuit for migrants’ rights & justice in an increasingly challenging and complex environment.  The essence of our work is even more relevant now!

Context

BREXIT, the ‘New immigration bill which reinforces the ‘hostile environment’ policy targeting migrants, the Climate crisis, Covid-19, Systemic racism, negative press narratives fuelling anti-migrant sentiments by sections of the media, protracted conflicts, political violence, human rights violations, economic exploitation, and political marginalisation of the global south.   

These developments constitute a disturbing environment for migrant’s rights & justice.  Firstly, it engineers and sustains vulnerability and the precarious conditions that trigger more mobility of migrants across and within countries.   Secondly, it entrenches and exacerbates an infrastructure that undermine migrants’ capacity to access justice, deepen inequality, racial & social injustice and routinely negate migrant rights and dignity.  In essence, such an environment poses an existential threat to the dignity and humanity of migrants.

Our Response

Migrant Action is adapting and responding to this changing and complex context. We have expanded provision and adapted service delivery model to proactively support vulnerable migrants during the pandemic and beyond. We enhanced our delivery of crisis interventions to prevent homelessness & destitution, increased access to immigration advice for people with insecure immigration, increased integration support for new migrants, assisted more EU migrants to regularise their immigration status in the UK after Brexit.   Our advocacy work continues to promote equity of rights and justice for migrants. Essentially, Migrant Action continues to a lifeline and safety net for vulnerable migrants in this challenging environment.

Migrant Action has also strengthened its capacity and resilience in pursuit of transformational social change. The current context demands more urgency to challenge anti-migrant sentiments and policies, tackle structural inequalities, climate change, systemic racism, and social injustice. To this vein, our strategic advocacy through ‘Strengthening Hands’ partnerships to grow migrant ‘voice’, as well as our collaborative research, capacity building and campaign-based activities have been impactful.

Looking to the future

Migrant Action anticipates operating in an even more challenging context as it grapples with the issues undermining rights and justice. However, we have emerged from 2020/21 with more capacity and resilience to respond to present and future challenges working as a team with staff, volunteers, trustees, partners, funders and of course, those we serve- migrants.  Therefore, we look forward to 2022 with greater hope and fierceness commitment to rights and justice for migrants, a fair and humane immigration system and for a more equal, just, and peaceful society in which everyone including migrants can realize their full potential.

Dear friends, your solidarity remains invaluable and integral to our success, even more so, now!

Thank you and Happy New Year!

Fidelis Chebe

Director