Peckham support group for asylum seekers hopes to bring another Syrian family to South London

A support group for asylum seekers which has given a Syrian family a new home has launched a bid to bring another one to South London.

Peckham Sponsors Refugees (PSR), a community sponsorship group of more than 100 volunteers, is re-launching this spring as the global refugee crisis continues to worsen.

It has been one year since PSR welcomed a Syrian family to Southwark in March 2019.

The funds were raised through hard work and the generosity of many local contributors and donors, to enable the project to qualify for the government’s Community Sponsorship Scheme since January 2018.

PSR is holding a public meeting on Wednesday, March 25 – the anniversary of the Syrian family’s arrival – at 7pm at Peckham Springs to plan sponsoring a second refugee family to come to Peckham.

“Now that we are in the UK, we feel safe,” a young man sponsored by PSR said at a recent event to support another community sponsorship group in Bermondsey.

“Peckham Sponsors Refugees welcomed us at the airport and provided us with the necessary assistance. We are thankful to all the members of the group because they were like a second family for us.

“Thanks again – because they didn’t leave us in danger, we now feel safe and happy,” he said.

A local homeowner provided an affordable house with six bedrooms, so PSR was able to sponsor an extended family of eight people including a young child who celebrated her third birthday recently with a fun-filled party attended by the community group.

“Being involved in PSR has been an utterly rewarding experience,” said the PSR volunteer leading the language team, which has supported the family in accessing English as a second language (ESOL) courses and provided ad hoc English classes at home since their first week in the country.

“I feel so privileged to have met such committed, friendly and supportive people in my local community.”

Peckham Sponsors Refugees hopes to change the hostile environment narrative around refugees and migrants. In October, Bea Forrester – who was only 19 when she founded Peckham Sponsors Refugees – was declared Young Champion at the Community Sponsorship awards organised by Sponsor Refugees.

The Imperial War Museum will display Peckham Sponsors Refugees’ leaflet as part of its exhibition, Refugees: Forced to Flee, which is due to open in April.PSR has said everyone is welcome to join Peckham Sponsors Refugees on March 24 to learn more about community sponsorship and support the local group in creating a welcoming community for refugees in Peckham.

Pictured top: The party held for the three-year-old family member