A group of friends started Welcome in April 2018. We were upset about the global refugee situation, and our government’s inadequate response to help. We all signed petitions, and some people went to help in the ‘Jungle’ in Calais, but we all wanted to be able to make a bigger, more direct, difference in our home county, Cornwall.
We found out about the Community Sponsorship scheme because there was another group in Bude, a town in the far north of Cornwall, who had resettled two families. Bude is a much smaller town than Falmouth, and we felt strongly that Falmouth ought to be doing this too! Big enough to be well served by public transport links and offer a range of educational provision, but small enough to ensure a warm and familiar community to gather round the families, we felt that the Falmouth and Penryn area was extremely well-suited to resettlement.
It took a long time to get started:
- 8 months to become a legally registered charity – so that we could raise money and and be accountable to the public for how we use the money.
- 12 months to gather enough volunteers with the right skills.
- 18 months to raise the £9000 required to submit a Resettlement Application.
- 20 months to find a suitable property.
- Our first family arrived in December 2019. We welcomed a second in June 2021 and a third in October 2023.
Over this time, we have grown and evolved in a number of ways. We have learnt a lot about resettlement, and been able to expand our outreach to involve other refugee families in Cornwall, for instance in extracurricular activities. Our volunteer base has grown, as has our fundraising, a testament to the power of our wonderful Falmouth and Penryn community. Our network has opened up partnerships with local organisations and businesses.
Our central goal has remained the same: to support refugee families in becoming integrated and valued members of our Falmouth and Penryn community.