November 2001, issue 8

Latest Forum Developments
On 24th October Ealing Refugee Forum held a full members meeting at the Centre for Armenian Information and Advice. This confirmed the election of a Management Committee of five members following our recent AGM. These are Mr. Ahmed Hashi Abdi of Refugee Aid and Development, Mr. Osman Ahmed of Red Sea Health and Community Care Association, Mr. Misak Ohanian of the Centre for Armenian Information and Advice, Ms. Nousha Pakpour Samari of the Lady’s Creative Centre and Ms. Cindy Tsang of the Hillingdon Chinese Community Organisation. The meeting expressed the need for all members to consider serving on the Management Committee and to contribute to the direction and decision making of the Forum to strengthen the refugee voice in the borough. It has therefore left open several places on the Management Committee so that all groups are able to contribute. All those interested in furthering the work of the Forum should contact Mr. Rumwold Leigh on 8992-4612.

The Forum has also welcomed a new Associate Member in the form of the Somali Youth Union in the U.K. which is a new community organisation based in Southall. The Somali Youth Union is in the process of formally establishing itself and has thus accepted Associate Member status prior to taking out full membership. Those interested in the Somali Youth Union in the U.K. should contact Mr. Hassan Jama on 07904-204866.

Other Refugee Forum
Hounslow Refugee Forum held its first Annual General Meeting on Saturday 17th November at the Conference Room at Hounslow Civic Centre. Over thirty people attended the event. The Forum was delighted to welcome the Mayor of Hounslow Cllr. Mohinder Gill as a speaker alongside Mrs. Ann Keen M.P. and Mr. Stephen James from RENEWAL. The Annual General Meeting ratified the existing Forum constitution and elected its first formally constituted Management Committee consisting of Mr. Ali Abdi of the East African Youth Group, Ms. Samiya Aden of the Horn of Africa Somali Women’s Organisation, Mr. Mohamoud Fadal of Refugee Welfare and Development, Ms. Susan Hafid of The Arab Group in Hounslow, Dr. Abdul Hirey of the Horn of Africa Human Rights Forum, Mr. Hassan Isse of the West London Refugee Employment and Training Initiative, Mr. Mohammed Khan of the Hounslow Afghan Society and Ms. Meera Maskey of the All Nepalese Association in Hounslow. Those interested in Hounslow Refugee Forum should contact the Chair of the previous Interim Committee Mr. Hassan Isse on 8577-3226 or 07951-618309 (mobile).

Hillingdon Refugee Forum was formally launched at an all day event on Tuesday 20th November at Hillingdon Civic Centre in Uxbridge attended by around two hundred refugee community organisations and agencies. The meeting was addressed by a number of platform speakers including Mr. John McDonnell M.P., Mr. Stephen James and the Chief Executive of Hillingdon Council Mr. Dorian Leatham. As at the Hammersmith & Fulham Refugee Forum launch last year an individual refugee also spoke about his experiences of life in the U.K. In the afternoon session attendees were treated to a performance by Hayes Manor After School Drama Group which dramatised the problems faced by historic migrants in the United States in 1841 which reflect the problems of refugees today. Those interested in Hillingdon Refugee Forum and its work should contact its Interim Chair Mr. Ahmed Hashi Abdi on 8848-3591 or Mr. Arya Mohaimen on 8848-1380.

Hammersmith & Fulham Refugee Forum has also employed a new Co-ordinator thanks to funding from RENEWAL SRB6 Project. He is Mr. Ayar Ata who is known to many in West London through his work with the Kurdish Community Centre and at the University of North London. Hammersmith & Fulham Refugee Forum is the third forum to employ a Co-ordinator after Ealing and Brent and it is intended that the other three fora in West London will soon follow suit.

West London Refugee Standing Committee (WLRSC) met in Ealing on 27th November and continues to develop the representational structure of the refugee sector and the appropriate roles of each of its elements. WLRSC currently meets as a council of refugee fora rather than a separate organisation competing against its members for funds and it intends to continue developing in this way. Mr. Roger Bronkhurst of Interchange Legal Services is presently drafting a governing document for WLRSC reflecting this intention and clarifying its relationships with outside bodies and its own member fora and the refugee community organisations they represent. It is intended that WLRSC engages with West London regional agencies on issues of concern to refugees and supports the development of its own member fora. For more details of the work of WLRSC contact Mr. Rumwold Leigh on 8992-4612.

News from Members
Ealing Refugee Forum has a number of member organisations which offer a multiplicity of services to their communities. We are therefore devoting some space in each newsletter to bring the recent work of each of our members to a wider audience.

The Action Group for Ethiopians in Ealing (AGEE) has opened a Saturday School at Acton Vale Community Centre between 11.30 and 3.30. The school is a combination of Mother Tongue Supplementary Classes and a Homework Club which has proved beneficial to many other communities in the past. AGEE also continues to offer advice and information on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from a shared office at Priory Community Centre in Acton. For more information contact the Co-ordinator Mr. Bekele Teklu on 8993-1237.

The Hillingdon Chinese Community Organisation runs a Chinese Community School which is offering Chinese language classes for students of all abilities during term time. It is also offering a free childminding course from January to March 2002 and ESOL classes for adults until July 2002. A Chinese Women’s Group has also been established to undertake self-help and advocacy work for this distinct community. Those interested in the work of this organisation should contact Ms. Cindy Tsang on 01895-638618.

The Middle East Christian Minorities Advice Centre has moved to 173 South Ealing Road London W5 4QP. Its telephone number remains 8569-7328.

Recent Events
On 13th November Action Acton held a publicity event at Acton Town Hall. A number of organisations active in the Action Acton area of benefit took stalls at the event and a number of local youngsters entertained the audience with musical performances. Of particular interest was a stall advertising the Acton Community Forum which is consulting on its potential membership and the exact form it should take. Action Acton continues to develop the W3 6,7 & 8 postcode areas where many refugees live and it is important that the human circumstances of residents as well as their built environment are changed for the better. For more information about Action Acton contact Mr. Mohamed Ismail on 8993-6158.

As previously reported the Ealing Advice Co-ordination and Development Project has been established. Its Co-ordinator Mr. Wesley Harcourt has provided the following information about the project.

“The Ealing Advice Development and Co-ordination Project is a new initiative to provide co-ordination and development support to Ealing’s advice sector. FIAC (Federation of Information & Advice Services) has been contracted to deliver the project by the London Borough of Ealing. Its four key elements are:

Ealing Advice Directory
We aim to draw up a comprehensive directory giving details of all Ealing’s advice providers, the areas of advice they cover and to what level. The directory will also be available to the public on the Council’s website.

Referral Protocol
The CLSP is keen to establish a standard procedure for making referrals that will apply to all advice centres in Ealing. We shall be encouraging those groups that are part of the QDI Project to participate in a pilot scheme and will be consulting with Ealing groups to make sure that whatever procedures are agreed, are ones that will gain widespread support.

Advice Forum
An advice forum aims to bring together advice and information providers around issues of mutual concern like shortage of funding, Quality Mark pressures and training needs. The forum will also provide a greater degree of accountability for the work of the CLSP than exists at present.

Achieving the Quality Mark
Our aim is to equip 20 Ealing groups with the skills and knowledge they need to achieve the Quality Mark. We shall be providing training and some one to one development work, partly in conjunction with QDI.”

For further details please contact Mr. Wesley Harcourt on 8896-9305.

Ealing Working Group on Refugees and Asylum Seekers (EWGRAS) has recently produced its long awaited report on refugee needs in the London Borough of Ealing compiled by Market and Opinion Research International (MORI). It was intended to launch this at an event in December but it has been necessary to identify a new date not known at the time of going to press. Those interested in this piece of work should contact Ms. Lainya Offside-Keivani at Ealing council on 8579-2424.

Forthcoming Events
Ealing’s Local Strategic Partnership is holding an Awayday on Wednesday 5th December at Pitshanger Manor in Central Ealing. The Awayday is designed to give those involved the opportunity to fully discuss the most important strategic issues facing the new partnership. Among these are the composition of the Partnership when it is fully established and its financial arrangements. Attendance is limited to a certain number of representatives but anyone wishing to contribute ideas from a refugee sector perspective should contact Mr. Rumwold Leigh on 8992-4612.

Ealing Community Empowerment Fund Network is holding its next meeting at Ealing Voluntary Service Council on Thursday 6th December at 2 p.m. ALL REFUGEE AND VOLUNTARY ORGANISATIONS ARE ENCOURAGED TO ATTEND THIS MEETING. The Community Empowerment Fund is established to help groups participate in the Local Strategic Partnership so it is important that a wide of range of people attend these meetings to ensure that the voluntary representatives on the Local Strategic Partnership reflect the views of those they represent. For more details contact Mr. Andy Roper at EVSC on 8579-6273.

As previously mentioned Ealing Advice Co-ordinaion & Development Project is organising an Ealing Advice Forum. This will hold its first meeting at 24 Uxbridge Road on 17th December at 2 p.m. This is another opportunity to raise the already high standards of the advice giving agencies in Ealing and address the issues such organisations face. For details contact Mr. Wesley Harcourt on 8896-9305.

Training Opportunities
The Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner (OISC) has announced a series of free training courses in asylum and immigration advice. These are expected to take place between January and March 2002 but no exact dates have been given. Courses have been organised in two grades depending on the experience of the advisor and are open to all organisations which give immigration and asylum advice and those who wish to do so in the future. All those interested should contact Ms. Dierdre Gilchrist on 7211-1584 or 7211-1551 as demand is likely to be high.

We are grateful to World University Service for sending us a copy of Reflect which is a multimedia CDROM for refugee advisers on education and training and employment. The covering letter advertising the CD ROM makes it sound very interesting but unfortunately we were sent a PC copy which our Mac equipment could not read. Those seeking a copy of this CD ROM should contact Mr. Hernan Rosenkranz on 7426-5800.

Funding Opportunities
The Association of London Government which we all knew as LBG has announced an Outer London Development Fund. This gives groups which provide services in at least two London boroughs grants of up to ?5,000 to help them develop better quality funding applications. As applications to this fund have to be made by 14th December all groups with clients in more than one borough should investigate this possibility now as any ALG grant is looked upon favourably by other funders. The Evelyn Oldfield Unit is able to provide advice and assistance with these applications. For details please contact Ms. Rosa Rodriguez at ALG on 7934-9801.

The Medical Foundation has announced a new Community Action Millennium Awards Scheme for the survivors of torture and organised violence. Its aim is to help survivors run community projects which will update their skills to enable them to help their communities. The scheme encourages innovative project ideas and it is therefore important that established organisations as well as individuals access this funding as that is where the communities actually are. For more details contact Mr. Amanuel Woldesus at the Medical Foundation on 7813-9999.

We have also received a questionnaire from Ealing Music Service which is seeking information on community arts activities. Community arts grants are currently being reallocated and this represents an opportunity to apply for new arts grants and to establish an arts project as an employment training initiative as competent refugee musicians have fewer barriers placed in front of them than other qualified refugees. For a copy of this questionnaire and further information contact Ms. Elaine Noden at Ealing Music Service on 8843-9121.

This newsletter is funded by the Camelot Foundation.
Ealing Refugee Forum is funded by RENEWAL, the London Borough of Ealing,
Comic Relief and the Trust for London.