Our Young Women’s Work
Our young women’s groups have been set up to respond to the specific needs of young refugee girls and women, and to provide a safe space for those who didn’t feel comfortable accessing mixed-gender activities. The groups support the development of social networks, improve mental and physical health, and empower young women to fulfil their aspirations.
How do we support young refugee women?
Our young women's groups aim to increase the inclusion and empowerment of young women, as well as to encourage female young refugees to engage, design and lead in activities and programmes.
Through this work, our goal is to upskill young women, develop their strengths, and grow their self-belief. We believe that it can also play an important role in promoting equal opportunities and challenging gender-biased career and life aspirations.
Young refugee women in Brent
Our young women’s group in Brent launched in July 2020 following the creation of our young women’s Basketball project and runs weekly in person and online.
The group aims to harness the strengths, voices, skills, passion and ambitions of young refugee girls and young women to raise awareness, influence change and to support them to achieve their goals.
The young women we work with as part of this project arrived in the UK unaccompanied, from Vietnam, Eritrea, Somalia, Sudan, Iraq and Albania. All are aged between 18-21 years. Demonstrating exceptional resilience, leadership and intelligence, all the young women are highly ambitious, and have shared their aspirations to pursue careers in education, public service, business, and accounting.
The young women have a central say in the planning of activities, working in collaboration with identified partners, and provides a safe space for in-depth discussion and support.
In addition to our physical and mental wellbeing programmes, we also have a specific focus on personal development, through workshops and educational trips to develop the young women’s strengths, interests, goals, and dreams, and to challenge them beyond what they believe they can do. Our sessions have ranged from Basketball to mental health and raising awareness of gender-based violence.
Young Roots runs the young women’s group in Croydon in partnership with the Refugee Council. The group provides a safe space for young refugee girls and women aged 11-21 years old to build their confidence and express themselves.
The young women we work with come from different countries and cultures, such as Eritrea, Ethiopia, Angola, Sierra Leone, Albania, Vietnam and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Despite their differences, they all feel it is essential for them to learn English and access education, as well as to understand how to navigate the asylum system and grow within their local communities. Through activities and in partnership with other organisations, we aim to meet these needs and support young people to build positive relationships with each other and create a sense of belonging.
Activities at the young women’s group are tailored to their needs and interests. In line with our youth participation approach, we encourage young women to discuss their ideas and make decisions together about future activities and trips, how to coordinate them and plan attendance, costs and travel.
Past activities have included yoga and dance classes, arts sessions, a Poetry project, a series of healthy relationships workshops, trips to Brighton or the London Zoo and picnic in the local park.
We also work with Off the Record to deliver sessions on mental health and tackle the issues that impact the young people’s emotional and physical well-being.
