Asha North Staffordshire

18/03/2025

Meet Darcy, everyone. 👋

Darcy is Asha’s Volunteer and Befriending Coordinator and has very kindly taken the time to discuss why they love working for our organisation…

“I started my role at Asha in June 2024 as I was keen to find a job giving back to the community, challenging myself, helping others and using the interpersonal skills I'd learned in my Counselling Masters at Keele University.

“Every day is something different at Asha. Typically, I start my day in the morning brief, discussing the plans for the day. I tend to split my time between processing and running inductions for new volunteers at Asha, checking in with those volunteering that day, and offering support where needed.

“There’s so much I find rewarding about working for Asha that it's hard to pick my favourite part. I love the sense of community and building connections with my volunteers, service users and the staff team. It is a welcoming and supportive place which truly values the support from our volunteers and offers opportunities to develop new skills, connections, confidence and community.

“It's so rewarding to be a part of this community, a part of this staff team and a part of something truly special here at Asha.”

Thank you for everything you do, Darcy. Your help and support have been invaluable to our organisation and its service users. 💚

If you would like to join Darcy’s amazing team of volunteers, please get in touch with [email protected]

18/03/2025

A positive story for your feed… ✨

A performing arts centre in Uganda is providing refugees with the opportunity to sing, play and dance, allowing them to creatively express themselves – a fundamental human right. The Bidi Bidi Performing Arts Centre, situated in Africa’s largest refugee settlement, can hold up to 1,000 people and provides an uplifting outlet for people who have been through some of the most unimaginable pain. Here, refugees can nurture their talents and take part in wonderful musical performances to spread messages of peace and love. 🎶

Uganda is home to more than 1.7 million refugees (more than any other African country), with more than 250,000 people currently living in Bidi Bidi. With its open-door refugee policy, the country mostly welcomes refugees from neighbouring nations, such as South Sudan and Somalia. 🌍

At Asha, we also recognise the importance of creative expression. This is why we regularly hold sessions where our service users can enjoy music, dancing, arts and crafts, playing sports and learning new skills and hobbies. It’s great to see the Bidi Bidi Performing Arts Centre spreading hope and happiness among those who need it most. We hope you all enjoyed this story as much as we did. 💚

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2025/feb/19/the-ugandan-arts-centre-bringing-harmony-to-africas-biggest-refugee-camp

The Bidi Bidi performing arts venue offers more than 250,000 refugees the chance to sing, play, dance – and dream of a peaceful future

10/03/2025

International Women’s Day celebrated with dignity and hope at Asha Centre. Over 20 different nationalities ASR women gathered with local women. Dance and music and children joined. ASR women also enjoyed Hena and beauty therapy done by their peers. Thanks Jackie, Lydia, Lucie , Miriam and volunteers for making this happen

01/03/2025

Did you know there are an estimated 7,000 languages in use around the world today? 🗣️

But every two weeks, one of those languages disappears.

Although we aim to give our service users as much support as possible with learning or improving their English, we also believe it’s important to celebrate their mother tongues. Right now, these include languages from Amharic, Albanian and Arabic through Farsi, Serbo-Croatian and Punjabi to Turkish, Urdu and Zaghawa. Languages spoken by the Asha team include French, Kinyarwanda, Kirundi, Krio, Kurdish, Malinke, Persian, Susu and Swahili (as well as English).

Languages are essential to passing down knowledge, preserving cultural heritage and building more peaceful societies. Let’s continue to promote linguistic diversity to help drive us towards a more understanding world. What language or languages do you speak? 🌎

11/02/2025

We feel the love and spread the love at Asha. Thanks to Keele Pharmacy students on placement for facilitating this workshop today. Happy Valentine's!

11/02/2025

A little update from Asha 🚨

In January, we provided more than 450 children and adults with vital assistance such as free groceries, clothes, asylum guidance, social clubs, and English lessons. 👏

This wouldn’t have been possible without our wonderful volunteers, donors and followers helping us along the way. 🤗

We want to say a big thank you to everyone who has supported our organisation and allowed us to make a difference at a time when our service users need it most.

Thank you, everyone!

09/02/2025

Home Office figures show that in 2023, asylum seekers and refugees made up just 11% of all immigrants to the UK. What’s more, many applicants wait for years for an initial decision, and not all asylum applications are successful.

At Asha, we hear first-hand what people go through to find safety for themselves and their families. Leaving your home and everything you know is not a decision that most take lightly if they have a choice at all.

Will you join us in promoting greater compassion and understanding for people fleeing persecution? 💚



(Source: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/sn01403/)

28/01/2025

Sue and Monica are currently delivering six weeks of workshops for Asha people as part of this project and some amazing pottery pieces have been created.

28/01/2025

Today is Global Community Engagement Day, a special day to highlight the importance of collaboration and empowerment. 🤗

At Asha, we believe that community engagement is crucial to a cohesive, happy society, but it takes a collective effort. Our work is focused on ensuring the men, women and children we support are part of the community and are respected for their contribution to society. 👏

What better time to look back at some of the community engagement events we and our members enjoyed in the past year?

💚 Some of our members took part in a documentary drama – Voices From – at the New Vic Theatre , as part of their Creating Peace conference with Keele University.
💚 Asha families got on board with GreenHouse Theatre Project UK for their production of Anya and The Potter (picture by Jenny Harper for GreenHouse Theatre Project).
💚 In October, we took part in an excellent community engagement event – Every Voice Matters – organised by Keele University.
💚 The community came together in June for our Refugee Week BBQ.
💚 Asha’s fantastic football team brought home Keele University’s annual Refugee World Cup!

14/01/2025

Is January getting you down?

Did you know volunteering is a great way to improve your mental health and wellbeing? It’s a great way to feel like you’re making a difference, and it’s enjoyable too! 👏

If you want to try something new, meet like-minded people and help an important cause, why not volunteer at Asha? We have a variety of opportunities available, such as running activities, sorting and delivering donations, spending time with service users, and more.

If you would like to get involved, please contact our volunteer coordinator, Darcy, at [email protected] to find out how you can help. You can also ring us on 01782 363122. 📞

Let’s beat the January blues by helping others. ❤️



Source: https://www.ncvo.org.uk/news-and-insights/news-index/time-well-spent-national-survey-volunteer-experience/volunteer-impacts/

07/01/2025

Our British winter can be tricky to navigate. Between the rain, wind and icy mornings, you might find yourself wishing it was summer. 🥶 Now imagine you’ve just arrived here with little more than the clothes on your back… Many of the people we support are not kitted out for the lovely British weather.

Do you have cold-weather essentials such as blankets, jackets, jumpers, hats, gloves or scarves that you can spare? These donations will help keep our service users warm and prepared for the cold weeks ahead. 🤗❄️

If you would like to drop off any donations or get in touch with us to find out more, please contact our office on 01782 363122 📞 or write to [email protected]. 📧

01/01/2025

Happy New Year, everyone! 🎉✨

The start of a new year signals new beginnings, and much of our work at Asha focuses on helping displaced people make a fresh start.

To mark the start of 2025, we would like to thank all our staff, volunteers and supporters for allowing us to positively impact the lives of so many people in 2024. ❤️

Keep your eyes peeled for this year’s campaigns, donation drives and volunteering opportunities so we can continue supporting the most vulnerable, excluded and discriminated members of our community. 🙏

#2025

24/12/2024

🎄✨ MERRY CHRISTMAS! ✨🎄

Asha would like to wish our service users, staff, volunteers and supporters a very merry Christmas! ☃️

However you are celebrating over the next few days, we hope you all have a wonderful and joy-filled time with your families, friends and loved ones. 💚

19/12/2024

Another Christmas celebration for asylum seekers and refugees organised by Asha North Staffordshire. 174 children and 186 adults attended the Saturday the 14December Asha’s 2024 Christmas celebrations. Hot meals including Iranian’s food and African’s food were served to everyone. Children enjoyed Santa and received selection boxes donated by Winter Wonderland. I am blessed to lead a fantastic Asha’s team and all was possible because your support to our cause. Merry Christmas and Happy New year 2025. Godfrey

19/12/2024

Rockin’ around the Christmas tree… 🎄☃️

We would like to say a HUGE thank you to everyone who helped make our 2024 Christmas celebration one of our biggest and best so far! You all played a massive part in ensuring our service users in Stoke-on-Trent and North Staffordshire made some wonderful Christmas memories. 🎉

Thanks are due to our brilliant volunteers and to everyone who donated their time and gifts, helping us provide young children with a festive celebration they can cherish forever. 🎁

We hope everyone who came enjoyed it as much as we did! 💚

10/12/2024

Today is Human Rights Day 2024. 🌎

This year’s theme is ‘Our rights, our future, right now’, calling attention to the importance of basic human rights in our daily lives. Every day, we have the opportunity to speak up against hate speech and correct misinformation.

We must make a collective effort to ensure that people driven out of their homes and away from their families receive only fair treatment, respect and compassion. This is why charities like ours exist: to provide voices for those who cannot be heard.

Asha will continue to support refugees through their struggles and fight for their rights to safety and dignity. No human being is illegal, and everyone has the right to asylum. 👏❤️

08/12/2024

This Christmas, Asha wants to spread some extra joy among our service users. 🎄🎁

We’ll be delivering gifts to families seeking asylum in Stoke-on-Trent and North Staffordshire, to ensure everyone has a magical Christmas to remember. Unfortunately, we can’t achieve this alone, so we are kindly appealing for toy and gift donations to help reach our goal. 🤞

Some ideas for gifts you can donate include baby and children’s books, baby and children’s toys, board games for all ages, teddies and dolls. 🧸

We are also, as ever, appealing for food donations. Staples such as tinned tomatoes, chickpeas, kidney beans, rice, pasta, tuna and oil are always appreciated. We would also appreciate any Christmas-themed treats, such as chocolates and selection boxes, biscuits and cakes. 🍫

If you would like to donate, please get in touch with us via telephone on 01782 363122 or via email at [email protected]. 💚

03/12/2024

Can you spare a few hours to spread some festive cheer? 🎄

We want to ensure everyone can wake up on Christmas morning to a visit from Santa, but we’re short of a few elves. We’re looking for volunteers to help us wrap gifts and distribute them to families seeking asylum in Stoke-on-Trent and North Staffordshire. 🎁

Gift wrapping will take place on Monday 16 December, from 10am at our HQ in Hanley. 📍

The deliveries will take place on Wednesday 18, Thursday 19 and Friday 20 December from 10am. There are no preferred drop-off times; all you need is a car (or some reindeer and a sleigh!) 🛷

If you’d like to help us spread some Christmas joy, please contact our volunteer coordinator, Darcy, to let her know your availability at [email protected]. You can also ring us on 01782 363122. 📞

We would appreciate any shares of this post so we can reach as many people as possible. 😊❤️

Thank you, everyone!