Volunteers are the lifeblood of Migrant Action.

In 2024, our diverse team of volunteers from Africa, Asia, Europe and the United Kingdom continued to
combine their passions, lived experience and expertise to support the organisation’s pursuit of migration
justice. Huge thanks to Zartasha, Holly, Emma, Odunni, Ezinne, Estela, Peace George and Nova (Intern).

They enabled Migrant Action in offering kindness, compassion, care to vulnerable migrants whilst also
providing vital humanitarian support. In essence, our volunteers are ‘activists’ working in solidarity in
pursuit of migration and systemic justice.

Our volunteering support currently involves but not limited to the following activities: fundraising, advice, casework and advocacy support, research, campaigning for policy change, social media and communications, data analysis, outreach & community engagement.

The impact of volunteering for the organisation, beneficiaries, communities, and volunteers themselves is transformative.

Our team of volunteers reflect and help embed Migrant Action’s radical collaborative and inclusive
approach and help unleash hope and resilience. Above all, they strengthen solidarity towards a liberative
future for migrants and migration justice.

Lived Experience: Voices of our volunteers

If you would like to join our amazing volunteer team and be part of the wider movement for
migration justice and social change, please contact us on info@migrantaction.org.uk

Impactful Step Forward! Towards Migration Justice

2024 has been a defining year for Migrant Action! We took another impactful step forward. We became a charity, following a rigorous strategic thinking process involved our board of trustees, critical allies, key strategic partners, leadership, staff and volunteers. Through this process and strategy framework, we reinforced our legitimacy, purpose, vision and urgency for migration justice and transformative change in an increasingly hostile global migration environment.

In 2024, we helped over 710 people over 40 different countries representing a 75% increase from 2023.

In addition to our community interactions, we engaged with over 1000 people and organisations (in person and remotely) seeking various types of support including information and guidance. Our Access to Justice program helped 250 people to access vital immigration support preventing them from falling
into precarious (insecure or irregular) immigration status including victims of domestic violence and destitution. For many vulnerable migrants experiencing various forms of systemic injustice, we offered
advocacy support and other positive pathways to integration, thereby renewing their hope for a better
future.

2024 has been defined by collaboration, build partnerships and critical allies for the furtherance of migration justice. We developed vital partnerships with other local, regional and national organisations working in solidarity to resist and transform migration, racial and systemic injustice. Through these
partnerships, we strengthened our inclusive, collaborative and holistic practice. We consolidated our
existing funding relationships and secured new funding partners enabling us to sustain and co-create
new ideas and projects as we proactively respond to emerging issues facing migrants. Building on the
success of the Migration Partnership-Barnsley, (a collective of local organisations), we built a new strategic Migration Partnership which is transforming engagement and collaborative migrant support
provision in Doncaster.

Through our casework and community engagement practice, (community ‘listenings’ we have developed three new lived experience led initiatives, Salaam Project, The Healing Justice Together project and Community Leadership Initiative. These initiatives will help shape Migrant Action’s community organising framework. Our casework and community practice have informed our research
interests.

In 2024, we published our research on ‘Wage Theft’ and the contours of accumulation’ examining the routine and systemic exploitation of migrant labour. This research and further issues uncovered by casework will underpin the development of new projects in 2025 focused on ‘Economic justice and Community organising & Power. Migrant Action is also a collaborative partner in two other research investigations with University of Leeds examining ‘Collaborative action on the future of migrant working conditions in Yorkshire warehousing’ and another research activity with the University of Swansea examining ‘Immigration Control as Revenue Regime: Mapping the Contours and Consequences’. Migrant Action recognise the importance of quality social research informing our strategic thinking and service provision.

As a migration justice and grassroots convenor, we convened important networking, public/community education sessions, community dialogues, policy update discussions and capacity building sessions therefore strengthening our legitimacy as a convenor organisation.

Passionate about the future of leadership for migration and racial justice, Migrant Action created more
volunteering and internship opportunities this year. In 2023/24, we have supported 15 volunteers and 3
paid internships.
Overall, in 2024, Migrant Action took a significant impactful step forward in actualising its purpose and
vision for migration justice. We now look to 2025 with even greater hope and conviction in the pursuit of
migration justice rooted in our values and trusted relationships constantly listening and guided by our
purpose.

We extend our profound gratitude to all who stand with us in solidarity and service for migration justice.

Read our full Migrant Action End of Year Report here:

Community based organisations constitute the ‘back-bone’ of support for migrants offering a safety-net for the most vulnerable. However, these organisations, often work in silos with constrained resources lack capacity to meet the multiple and complex needs of migrants especially those with no recourse to public funds. Most crucially, as small individual organisations, they lack the capacity for strategic advocacy and systemic justice.

As such, Migrant Action in 2024 started a process of ‘collaborative justice’ building a network of local
partnerships into a collective of community-based organisations supporting asylum seekers, refugees, migrants and traveller communities working collaboratively with the local authority, NHS, Police and other statutory organisations to ensure greater support and access to justice for all migrants in Doncaster.

One of the key achievements of the Migration Partnership is the set of a new multi-agency drop-in
offering a ‘One-Stop’ holistic service for all migrant groups and members of the local community in need of support. The Migration Partnership’s one-stop multi-agency model is a radical shift from silos service provision enabling better networking, greater access and quality support services to migrants.

As a collective, the partnership is working towards building power for collaborative justice and influencing systemic change. The partnership also aims to strengthen solidarity for effective engagement and community togetherness in an increasingly challenging migration environment.

IMPACT: Voices of the Partnership