We are a diverse group of local people who have joined together to welcome and support a refugee family to restart their life in the Ormeau area through Community Sponsorship.

Community sponsorship offers a chance for local groups to apply to the Home Office to bring a refugee family into their community. This is an addition to existing government pledges to resettle refugees.

The scheme started in 2016. Since then 100 groups welcomed more than 500 refugees. Charities like Reset offer groups training and support on how to apply to the scheme and how to support newly arrived families to the UK.

Find out more about community sponsorship at resetuk.org

What are we fundraising for?

For our application to be successful we need to demonstrate we meet certain criteria. The Home Office has to be sure the family will be supported to rebuild their lives successfully. This involves finding things like housing and school places, and raising an emergency fund of £9,000.

Anytime you see ORP fundraising, this is what we are fundraising for. During December we managed to raise over £3500 with some carol singing, Carol-o-grams and online donations.

The fund can be used for anything the family needs. Other groups have spent the fund on translators, warm clothing, transport and more. Rent will be covered by the Housing Executive and the family will likely claim Universal Credit to cover their living expenses until they find employment.

Why are we doing this?

More than 29 million people around the world have been forced to leave their homes and countries because of war or persecution. Many of us feel powerless as we watch on the news and social media as people flee war and persecution, with nowhere to turn. We feel lucky to live in a time and place where we feel safe and want to share that privilege with others who were not born so lucky.