Showing posts with label day centre. Show all posts
All Are Welcome at the Table of God
 |
| A photo by Jürgen Treiber_Fotor.com |
Here is a reflection by Jyoti, who volunteers at the JRS Day Centre since 2
years
The
vision of the JRS Day Centre for me comes from the Bible: the table of God
where all are welcome, regardless of caste or creed. This is the place where all
are given their place, their respect. This is the atmosphere we have here and
this is the welcoming attitude we have for our guests.
I
like of course talking to each person! First of all opening the door… Open the
door, give a smile and a welcoming gesture. It is for me an openness to receive
each one, the receptiveness, and then you see the smile on the other’s side. One
of them who came recently was a new one, it was her first time. The day she
came she was really down, the second time she came here her face was so
peaceful and calm. I asked her and she said it was because I met the cheerful
people, the good people here.
That
is the difference we make. Those who come with their burdens, feelings of what
is happening to them… so even one smile makes a big difference. What I see
differently, what I have learnt myself as a volunteer, well as you can see, a
smile is my main motto here! Sincerely, despite all the difficulties, if they
can smile, what if I can not give a smile. I see that from the other side, so
it brings such a difference.
Then,
I was on the desk for the travel money. Money is a big thing in their life,
they don’t have money, and although we are giving little, it is very supportive
to them as other organisations do not give it, they have no access to money. So
JRS is doing a very purposeful work which can help them to go to the place they
want, the necessary solicitor or reporting at the Home Office. And all the
various activities of course, they are ways of freeing them from the tension. Like
the massage, the touch makes the person feel healed and loved, all the
activities for our guests are very down to earth, and so very helpful for them.
For
me dignity is one JRS value that is important to me. People come to the UK looking for
dignity a good life, but they end up with nobody respecting them. But this is
one of the place that we have that good practice or a very good deep model of
dignity. Overall I feel this is a place of hospitality where one feels at home
and each volunteer and staff member are so open to cater to our guests in a way
they feel welcomed. And of course our compassion to them in their suffering. We
give that to each person, respecting them as they are as a person, regarding
their person as the image of God.
Subscribe to JRS-UK Community Blog by Email
Tag :
accompany,
befriending,
centre,
community,
day centre,
expression,
food,
friends,
human beings,
JRS,
money,
open doors,
peace,
reflection,
refugee,
volunteers,
welcoming,
CSAN Lent Campaign: Changes Lives
CSAN, or Caritas Social Action Network, in which we are taking part, has launched the Lent Campaign: Changes Lives! Here are some of our JRS volunteers voices on how JRS helps change lives of those marginalised ...
Thank you, all! If you are interested, here is the link to CSAN.
Subscribe to JRS-UK Community Blog by Email
 | ||||||
| By encouraging refugee women to manage their stress and to focus on their health and wellbeing; by praying together |
 |
| By enabling people to develop their own voice |
 |
| By providing companionship and emotional support |
 |
| Through sharing, listening and praying with and for people who have been detained, in a non-judgemental way |
 |
| By teaching us how we can help make a difference |
 |
| By treating people with dignity; encouraging people to participate; and by giving people a voice |
 |
| Accompaniment; journeying with; listening; building relationships; learning mutually |
 |
| By finding creative opportunities for our refugee friends to have peace, dignity and to have some fun |
 |
| By respecting each person as they are, without any discrimination! |
Thank you, all! If you are interested, here is the link to CSAN.
Subscribe to JRS-UK Community Blog by Email
Tag :
accompany,
advocate,
asylum seekers,
befriending,
day centre,
expression,
human beings,
JRS,
refugees,
voice,
volunteers,
Me and JRS
 |
| Photo by Nathan - from Flickr.com |
Pauline, from the Democratic Republic of Congo, told us about her experience with JRS-UK. She has been in the UK for 6 years and coming to JRS for 3 years. She attends our Day Centre regularly on a Thursday and is a member of our Women’s Prayer Group which meets every week on a Tuesday.
Coming here for me, I have a nice story here. It has given me joy! If I did not come here, I would not feel good. I don’t know what it is about JRS, but I love it too much here!
Here, they help me, This one is my house, when I come here I am happy. I don’t have family here, so in this place, I have tea with my friends. They are helping me. I have my plate and my mug which Louise gave to me. So when I see them I see her!
This country gives me no work, no job, no chance to earn money. But if you have your appointments, you still need your Oyster card... Here they give you money for your tickets: to sign in (report) for the Home Office, for hospital appointments...
Every week I have appointments. I have been in the hospital three times. Jonathan from JRS came to visit me. He was so kind.
I was going to college, but I was sick, so now I can’t go. Maybe next year I will start again to study English, I would like to improve my English.
These challenges... they go on for a long time, many years. This country, many people are coming here, with then lots of problems: no places to sleep, staying only with friends... This place, JRS, helps all people.
Every Tuesday, I come here with the women to pray. The massage with Magda is helping me too. I love it, I feel good!
What is next for me? I don’t know, I am very sad in this country, it is too hard. One day when I have my papers, I will go to work. I will go to college and get training. I would like to do care work, to care for others. I am a very caring person.
When I pray, I pray for God to help this charity, to go a long way, it helps everybody who is coming here.
I like to say God bless these people, I thank God very much for these people.
Subscribe to JRS-UK Community Blog by Email
Bon Appetit!
Kate shares her most recent experience of offering hospitality for friends of JRS in the UK
How do you know an evening event has gone well? When you spend all night doing the washing up and everyone brings their plates in saying how delicious the food was! Last week, we were pleased to welcome here a mixture of people to a meal cooked by one of our JRS refugee partners. It was our way of saying thank you to those who help sustain the work of JRS in various ways: as donors, supporters, advisors, volunteers...
Eating together is not unusual at JRS, we do it most lunchtimes: simple bread, cheese, salad, fruit... but this meal was special with tchep rice, spicy harissa chicken, chocolate mousse. All prepared by one of our refugee friends who is completing his training as a chef at a college in London. The occasion gave him a chance to articulate the importance of being accompanied by JRS in his chosen course and for us to appreciate how we all grow together, here in community.
One guest said: "It was a delicious meal and so beautifully presented; it was great to see so many people who love and support our JRS; and it was good to have the chance to have deeper conversations with the people we were sitting near... I know that many people have been enabled to find their dignity and to give them hope through the continuous presence of JRS in their lives."
So here's to many more occasions to celebrate our journeys together, to sit around the table sharing joy in life and to taste delicious food - cheers!
Subscribe to JRS-UK Community Blog by Email
A Pilgrim Journey to Canterbury
“The first day was really an amazing day,” Charles expressed on sharing his experience of the pilgrimage. “We walked through the city of London and we reached Swanly which is 18 miles away from London and there we slept in a church – everybody! - and we had lovely dinner, conversations and so on. The second day we reached a place somewhere in Kent, not far from Ashford. We had a lot of discussion as we walked and the next day we were in Charing. And in Charing we discovered a church that was 700 years old, and the first vicar of the church was patronised by King Henry VIII. And we stayed there, we stayed in a school basically and there was evening entertainment where we organised comic strips, theatres, singers so it was a lot of fun. The fourth day was the last day, so we went to Canterbury. And at Canterbury we had a mass at Canterbury Cathedral.
Unfortunately the archbishop of Canterbury was not there but we did see the Dean of Canterbury and they had a choir. A very lovely choir, very lovely songs and we had a reading from those who are really, the thinkers of helping the community.”
On the second day of the walk, Charles, who has been taking part in a photography workshop at JRS, run by Fotosynthesis, a not-for-profit organisation that uses participatory photography to develop skills, give a voice to people and encourage community cohesion, was inspired by the beauty of the area and the joy he felt to take a photo.
“I just stood and I just opened my hands like this just to say how life is, how nature is beautiful and it just shows that although you are walking and people may feel like it was really painful and hard to walk for four days, after the second day, I was still feeling very happy and enthusiastic because it was for a good cause. It’s for people who need accommodation, who need support in their society, who need food for themselves. So my hands that way, show in life we have to be open to each other, we have to welcome each other, we can help each other, and by such action we can iron out some problem in the society such as homelessness, such as poverty and such as mental health problems.”
Tag :
accompany,
advocate,
beauty,
Britain,
day centre,
expression,
friends,
JRS,
london,
photography,
sharing,
travel,
Volunteering at JRS, the Day-Centre
Mike Guilfoyle, talks about his experience as a JRS volunteer.
Following my departure from having completed a twenty year ' stretch ' working as a front -line Probation Officer in London in 2010. I started to look around for new and energising pathways into working outside the statutory sector and in particular fulfilling a long standing interest in working as a Volunteer. After experiencing some unexpected setbacks, I was informed by one well known charity having made what I took to be a convincing presentation, that I was unsuitable as I appeared to have not quite stepped outside the probation officer persona! Undeterred, I directed my attentions to an altogether different area of volunteering, that I had peripherally engaged with albeit in the context of casework supervision with ' foreign national' prisoners when working as a probation officer.
Having already written articles for the Catholic Social Justice Quarterly, Justice Magazine, on how my catholic faith had informed my approach to working with those who came into contact with the criminal justice system, it seemed fitting that having contacted the Mount Street Jesuit Centre and had the estimable pleasure of an informal interview with Andrea Kelly that I was directed (I have now nearly completed my novitiate!) towards the Jesuit Refugee Service. At the time, JRS was relocating from its former base in North London to Wapping and as such I awaited with keen anticipation the much delayed meeting (due to the aforementioned migration across London) with JRS Assistant Director Jonathan Parr. The convivial and engaging process of volunteer recruitment was then wonderfully complemented by the presence of a warm, welcoming and eclectic staff group.
Although I had expressed a preference for working as a volunteer visiting those caught up in the Orwellian world of detention centres, childcare considerations meant that this option has remained , at least for the present, impracticable. Since then I have willingly given up a chunk of my Thursdays to work in the vibrant and challenging weekly Day-Centre that is at the heart of the Hurtado Centre and this has offered a richly uplifting experience which has meant so much to me, anchored as it is in the foundational principles of catholic social thought, respecting the dignity of the human person, who is possessed of a god -given worth captured so well in Matthew 25: ' If you welcome the stranger, you welcome me'
I was mildly amused to note that the Jesuits also have what they define as House Probation , that is novices perform most of their basic but essential tasks , alongside their heroically lengthy but to the secular outsider, formidable period of formation. I can honestly state that the time I have so far spent at JRS has been unremittingly rewarding and has offered me a privileged opportunity to meet with, work alongside and support the refugees, many of whom offer their greetings and friendship, when they arrive at the Day-Centre and prior to leaving. I now feel a warm attachment and measured respect for those friends whose stories of displacement and rejection, have resulted in unmerited penury reliant on the charitable support of JRS and other voluntary bodies. In making oneself available often at times of great individual distress, by opening up an emotional space and presence and active compassionate listening. I have always tried at moments when my patience or attention is lacking, to recall the enduring words of Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel, ' If I see a person or persons suffer and the distance between us does not shrink, then my place, is not good, not enviable'.
I was mildly amused to note that the Jesuits also have what they define as House Probation , that is novices perform most of their basic but essential tasks , alongside their heroically lengthy but to the secular outsider, formidable period of formation. I can honestly state that the time I have so far spent at JRS has been unremittingly rewarding and has offered me a privileged opportunity to meet with, work alongside and support the refugees, many of whom offer their greetings and friendship, when they arrive at the Day-Centre and prior to leaving. I now feel a warm attachment and measured respect for those friends whose stories of displacement and rejection, have resulted in unmerited penury reliant on the charitable support of JRS and other voluntary bodies. In making oneself available often at times of great individual distress, by opening up an emotional space and presence and active compassionate listening. I have always tried at moments when my patience or attention is lacking, to recall the enduring words of Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel, ' If I see a person or persons suffer and the distance between us does not shrink, then my place, is not good, not enviable'.
Working at the JRS has helped me to see in the vulnerable stranger a mirror of myself, and a reflection of Christ that points towards an invitation to human solidarity. I have met some truly wonderful colleagues, some of whom have since moved onto other challenges and career openings. The ready wit, cheerful banter and ' salty' humour in evidence when volunteers come together has been a source of joy and delight to me, the ' passagiato' practised with consummate ease by one of the volunteers now studying for a higher degree! will no doubt be recognised by 'front of house' volunteers! An invitation to accord greater attention and support to those marginalised by political strife and persecution and broken by personal tragedy was recently reiterated in the Apostolic letter in anticipation of the World Day of Migrants and Refugees from Pope Francis which concludes with these resonant words: 'Dear migrants and refugees! Never lose the hope that you too are facing a more secure future, that on your journey you will encounter an outstretched hand, and that you can experience fraternal solidarity and the warmth of friendship! To all of you, and to those who have devoted their lives and their efforts to helping you, I give the assurance of my prayers and I cordially impart my Apostolic Blessing.'
My Name
When did your name change
From a proper noun to a charm?
It’s three vowels like
Jewels on the thread of my breath.
Its consonants brushing
My mouth like a kiss
I love my name
I say it again and again in this summer,
I see it it, discreet in the alphabet,
Like a wish
I pray it into the night
Till the letters are light
I hear my name
Rhyming, rhyming
Rhyming with everything.
Subscribe to JRS-UK Community Blog by Email
A very special courgette
Today at JRS, I spent a long time chatting with one of our long-time friends who comes to see us each week.
We both share French as our second language which comes in very handy for helping to translate complicated letters from the hospital or other official correspondence from English into the essential information she needs. It also means that we can talk together about family problems and exchange perspectives on how we deal with issues in our respective cultures.
Sometimes, it can feel like my patience is running out as I struggle with vocabulary or look at a letter for the fifth time as she takes it out from her filing system of envelopes and plastic bags. I am mindful that I am not attentive enough or that my mind strays back to the paperwork that feels more urgent. And yet, I love chatting with this lady.
She feels to me like a grandma that I miss, an auntie or wiser woman whose wisdom I only have a taste for. She has lived more challenges than I know and counts friends here in the UK a small compensation for her family who is spread out in different places, all far from her country. She has a great faith and loves to sing and the best smile with a twinkle in her eye that you can catch on a day when the sorrows of life here as an asylum seeker don’t overwhelm her.
It turns out that in the midst of her travails, she loves planting vegetables and before we ended our conversation for the day, she gave me carrots and courgettes to take home for my tea. I shared them with another refugee colleague and took one home to cook with friends this evening.
I felt very proud to tell my friends that this courgette I had brought to our pot-luck supper was grown by my refugee friend. A very special courgette indeed.
By KM
Subscribe to JRS-UK Community Blog by Email
I can show people what it is like to be destitute
Destitute
Each journey entails a hundred possibilities.
I have been thinking of a safe place
When
Feeling my fatherland to this land,
When
Leaving my motherland this land.
But when I reached to this foreign land,
I saw myself in no man’s land,
I saw myself living in Alexander Island
In Antarctica.
A place where no one want to live,
But is the place where I live,
My new home.
At JRS-UK, you are welcome
Welcome signs made by
refugees from the Day Centre,
to welcome one another and guests to our Summer
Party.
Subscribe to JRS-UK Community Blog by Email
