Jesmond Library – Warm Welcome
They have been running our “Friends Fridays” since the beginning of September, continuing at least until the end of December.
Attendees are both asylum seekers from a local hotel and Ukrainians staying with local families.
Most of the children who attended over the first week or two are now able to attend school, and by far the most popular offering is free English lessons, provided by three volunteers, all of whom have teaching qualifications.
They provide some very straightforward refreshments.
A recent and very welcome innovation is that two of the asylum seekers themselves are (with support) going to start running their own groups, open to everyone. One will be called “Crafts and Chat” and the second will be on “Turkish Language and Culture”.
They are now planning a seasonal party for Christmas time and intend to open up at the same time as the Asylum seekers, for the general public, as a “Warm Zone”.