Below is a first-hand insight from one of our volunteers who recently was involved in our ‘Welcome to England’ project.

When 2021 began, I was determined to make use of the strange situation in which we found ourselves. Around the world, we were confined to our homes. I’ll admit I felt lonely – I missed speaking to my friends and my family. But after nearly a year of lockdown worldwide, the novelty of Zoom trivia quizzes, happy hours, and coffee chats had worn off.

I was scrolling through Instagram one evening when I came across Migrant Action. I’ve always felt very strongly pro-immigration. After all, I am the product of two immigrant parents and I myself am an immigrant in the UK. Migrant Action was recruiting English teachers to volunteer! 

While normally Migrant Action is Leeds-based, because of the unique situation of the year, I was able to volunteer from the comfort of my home in London. I joined the first welcome session with other volunteers and I was so happy to see such a diverse group of people volunteering to not only teach English, but also be a welcoming presence in migrants’ lives here in England. 

To be honest, I felt nervous to be there. I’m not qualified to teach English, but Fidelis and Abbi did an excellent job making us feel welcome and made us feel like we were making a difference by volunteering our time. A few weeks later, I jumped on an introduction call with Fidelis, the founder of Migrant Action, and a lovely couple from Guinea-Bissau: Fernanda and Augusto. We had a short conversation and got to know each other. It’s hard to tell if there’s chemistry over Zoom, but I immediately liked Fernanda and Augusto. We agreed to proceed with weekly English lessons.

I remember the day of our first lesson. I had no idea what I was doing. Fernanda and Augusto already had a decent understanding of English and I scrambled to assess their level of vocabulary and grammar. By the end of our first lesson, I thought they’d go running to Fidelis and tell him they wanted a new teacher. Instead, they asked if we could meet twice a week!

Since that first lesson, we’ve had a marvelous time. Every Tuesday and Thursday we get together to learn new vocabulary with the help of websites like Quizlet. We practice pronunciation and work ourselves up into fits of laughter. We’ve gotten to know each other over the past few months and it has been such a joy to become a regular presence in each others’ lives. In fact, when the lockdown in England was lifted, I went to visit Fernanda and Augusto in Leeds. They welcomed me into their home like an old friend and fed me the most delicious Guinean four-course dinner!

While most pairings last about 6 months, Fernanda, Augusto and I have agreed to continue on with English lessons. I am so proud of the small, but noticeable changes in their vocabulary or pronunciation. I can only hope that our time together has made them feel welcome in this country and equipped for their new lives in England.

Covid-19 has further exposed the structural vulnerabilities in our society and the need for transformational leadership towards building resilient communities and more equitable and just society. 

Throughout the pandemic, Migrant Action has articulated and challenge systems and behaviours which routinely reproduce structural inequalities and the ‘harm’ on individuals and communities. Alongside this strategic advocacy work, we have provided a range of support to vulnerable migrants most affected by the pandemic particularly those with no recourse to public funds. 

Through our collaborative working, Migrant Action encountered emerging leaders passionate about inspiring and leading in their communities, yet constrained by the lack of leadership development opportunities. In response, in the spring of 2021, Migrant Action and Nicola Parker Coaching Consultancy delivered a leadership program for 10 emerging leaders working with migrant based organizations and migrant communities in Leeds. The program focused on developing a ‘Whole Person leader’ empowered to lead change. Migrant Action’s leadership development is focused on strengthening grassroots-based leadership towards building resilience and mobilizing for transformational change.

Below, Eve Maloba, Project Manager, Complete Woman CIC reflects on her experience of the program

The leadership program provided me with the opportunity to network. It also gave me insight and allowed me to reflect and develop my knowledge and skills as a leader in the third sector. I share in the program’s inspiring vision to ensure leadership equity by increasing access to leadership opportunities for individuals from migrant and black and brown communities. 

As a lifelong learner, this program has afforded me the opportunity to improve my managerial skills. 

The group activities were vital to understanding the different styles of leadership. As a result, it has allowed me to reflect on my personal style and how suitable it is for taking the organisation forward. The invaluable information on managing performance and people development through feedback is now being implemented within our staff and volunteer management strategy.

I am looking forward to more third sector-focused programmes from Migrant Action to ensure we sustain the learning and development.

Nicola Parker has stated:

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‘Strengthen networking and building leadership capacity among migrant-led grassroots organisations’ is one of Migrant Actions key aims. Not only does this talk to developing key leadership skills to support the effective running of organisations, for now, it also talks to a future where more leaders of refugee and migrant organisations will be leading from a position of lived experience. For me, that represents an exciting challenge and change for the sector and I was delighted that Migrant Action asked if I could deliver a leadership development programme for community leaders and emerging managers.

Leadership is a well-researched field. For leadership programmes to have an impact, concepts and theories must be translated into practical skills and tools. We focused on:-

Understanding different leadership styles

Developing our coaching skills to empower others

Thinking strategically

Providing clarity – translating strategy into goals and objectives

Understanding motivation

Managing difficult conversations including feedback

Leadership, especially in small organisations, can be lonely. Bringing people who are navigating similar challenges together, in a safe and supportive space, helps. Not only are participants able to grow their network and learn from and with one another but the magic of the group can ensure support transfers outside of the formal programme. This came through as we completed our final check out when the overriding offers to the group were of their time and continued support whilst requests were made for possible partnerships and peer accountability.

Caroline Starkey (University of Leeds) and Fidelis Chebe (Migrant Action)

Between October 2021 and April 2022, Migrant Action will be partnering with a group of University of Leeds BA Liberal Arts students to undertake a research project exploring the impact of covid-19 on international students at the University of Leeds.  Our BA Liberal Arts degree is an exciting and flexible degree programme, where students choose to ‘major’ in one of six subjects (English, History, Philosophy, Cultural Studies, Politics or Sociology) but also take a number of other courses from across different disciplines. Students from the second year of the degree programme will be partnering with Migrant Action on this new and innovative research project as part of a core module that engages students with external partners, and supports them to undertake impactful research activities with a specific focus.  

We know that Covid-19 exposed the structural vulnerabilities and inequalities in our society and disproportionately impacted particular groups of people, including at our University.  International students, from undergraduate to PhD level, have been significantly affected by the restrictions operational in society, and at the University. Many of them may have moved to the UK just as the country was locking down, and they might be living in an unfamiliar area, with few support networks.  

Due to the nature of online teaching, many international students (like home students) will not have met their lecturers or peers and might have increased struggles to access materials and academic support, as well as be uncertain about how to engage with wellbeing and mental health support, being far away from home and loved ones. In response to this, our project sets out to investigate the experiences of international students studying in the University of Leeds, and to raise awareness (both in the University and beyond) of the issues that they have faced (and continue to face) as the world struggles to manage the covid-19 pandemic. 

 In this project, students will be supported to conduct empirical research with UoL international students, and will be working closely together with Migrant Action and academic supervisors to guide the research.  Although the outcomes of the project will be student-led, we are hoping that our Liberal Arts students will be able to present the results of the research in a creative way, in either film or podcast format, so that the voices and needs of international students are highlighted and centred.  This is an exciting and cutting-edge project, which might really make a difference to understanding international students’ experiences under Covid.

Migrant Action has also offered internships at the University of Swansea

Temitope Salami is completing a summer internship as a research and support officer, working closely with the Director/Project Leader to develop a research project/briefing paper on the connections between the UK’s ‘New Plan’ for Immigration, COVID-19 pandemic, and implications for migrants, through a content analysis of segments of the British press, and a documentary analysis of Migrant Action’s casework. Prior to joining Migrant Action, he volunteered with Harm Reduction International as a research assistant in the Human Rights and Justice Department with a focus on global drug policy. His contributions included research on the Death Penalty for Drug Offences: Global Overview 2020 and a review of human rights standards on the impact of drug policies (right to health, elimination of discrimination against women and girls, arbitrary detention, and torture) which generated a briefing paper for the United Nations Human Rights Council. He is an MA candidate in Applied Criminal Justice & Criminology at Swansea University and holds a Masters and BSc in Legislative Studies and Political Science from the University of Benin and Babcock University, respectively.