Description

Many countries around the world are offering a home to refugees and asylum-seekers, often from cultures very different than their new environment. This timely handbook covers the issues and areas of concern that can arise when asylum is part of the equation – either because you’re a volunteer program manager in an organization that has taken on (or wants to) refugees and asylum-seekers as volunteers, or because your client group includes refugees and asylum-seekers. Recruiting these new arrivals as volunteers taps into the diverse skills and experience they bring, while allowing an organization to become more representative of the wider community.

The A to Z of Volunteering and Asylum honestly identifies the challenges of its unique subject while highlighting different ideas and approaches that are proving successful in England today. The handbook includes a glossary of terms, explains the reasons why engaging refugees as volunteers is important, and deals openly with possible problems.

International readers will need to ignore the material about English immigration and employment law or the British resources section, but otherwise should find the best practices suggested to be relevant and adaptable to their own countries.  The handbook is also useful for dealing with any new immigrant population or situations in which participants have divergent cultural backgrounds.

Table of Contents

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Readers' Reviews

“This handbook is essential for any volunteering organisation wanting to build up and strengthen diversity. Whether your volunteers are helping refugee clients or whether you want to include refugee volunteers, it gives you clear guidelines, practical examples, useful contacts and lots of ideas. Highly recommended.”

—Trevor Phillips, Chair, Commission for Racial Equality, UK

When you've completed the book, remember to submit a review!

Brief Excerpt

EMOTIONS

Volunteers working with asylum seekers and refugees can be exposed to – and can experience – a range of emotions. Refugees and asylum seekers who volunteer may find that their contact with clients triggers a range of responses relating to their own situation. Helping volunteers cope with this will be part of the support you give as a volunteer manager.

Often, feelings are positive – of helping; solving problems; forming friendships; having fun. Other feelings volunteers report are frustration, disappointment and anger at the injustice they witness. Again, good organisation and support can help volunteers at these times – and anger can be channelled into activism and campaigns.

See also : activist • boundaries • campaigns • endings • supervision • support.

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