For eight years I have been volunteering to support refugees and asylum seekers in South East Northumberland, mainly in Ashington and Blyth. To mark my 75th year, I am using my bus pass to travel around Northumberland, then on to Manchester, Glasgow, Blackpool, Birmingham, Huddersfield, Stoke, Leicester, Nottingham, Surrey and London, all to visit people who, during their asylum journey, once called Ashington and Blyth home.

Because of the warm welcome they received from Northumberland County of Sanctuary, the hundreds of people who have passed through have never forgotten the area. The world came to this little corner of Northumberland and then spread out again – people have married, had children and started careers – so much life has happened. So I wanted to see how everyone was doing.

In Manchester I was hosted by the lovely Mohammed from Sudan, who was the very first asylum seeker in Ashington to get leave to remain in 2017. He had little English when he was evicted from the Home Office accommodation, becoming homeless. Because the Home Office had made a mistake with his name on his ID card, Mohammed was unable to open a bank account to access any money at all. This happened just before Ramadan that year and as no other accommodation could be urgently found for him, my husband and I invited him to stay with us until the mistake could be rectified. This took three months and hours spent on the phone to the Home Office, DWP and HMRC. It was a huge wake-up call to show how difficult the asylum system is to navigate and how at risk people are of falling through the cracks.

Mohammed’s favourite football team was Manchester United and his dream was to become a paramedic. So when his paperwork was all sorted out he moved to Manchester, volunteering with St John’s Ambulance Brigade – who attend all the Manchester United home games – while he studied English and supported himself with various zero hours contract jobs. He is now a first responder volunteer with the Red Cross, and has received a medal for being one of those lining the route at the King’s coronation and another for when he marched with the Red Cross contingent at the Cenotaph on Remembrance Day! He is currently an ambulance driver and has recently been accepted to start university in September to do Medical Studies. We are all so proud of his faith and determination to succeed.

I also saw Solmaz, Pedram and Parham who gave us a wonderful welcome and a delicious meal. Pedram has completed his dissertation and will be taking his final exams in his Artificial Intelligence degree. Solmaz and Parham still miss Ashington.

We also had a great day with Habeebat and her now four gorgeous children. Jamaldeen is such a handsome, caring young man who loves school. Habeebat herself is such an amazing, strong woman. She had prepared a delicious meal for us, remembering that I do not eat meat. How kind of her.

Next I was off to Glasgow. I spent a lovely few days catching up with Rondik and Aya and Roya in their flat on a quiet estate with good neighbours. The girls are both doing well at school and will be starting high school in September.

We arranged to meet the others at the Botanical Gardens on a very wet Saturday and took shelter in the tropical houses. Unfortunately Kobra and her husband and Mohammed couldn’t make it, so I will be returning there at some time to connect with them all again. 

Afterwards we had a delicious meal in a Thai restaurant near the gardens and talked about the different experiences people have had when going to Glasgow. Omran had just moved into his own flat. It was obvious that settling in Glasgow was not easy for anyone. We have set up a WhatsApp group so that people can help each other and new people arriving can get very good advice. 

My third visit took me to the coach station in Blackpool, where I was met by Azad, Lara, Darya and Varya and taken to their lovely house where I was introduced to their small green parrot, Nuni. Azad and Lara had both taken holiday from work so that they could show me around the area and take a walk by the sea. On Friday afternoon we went to collect Darya from school where he is studying A levels. His GCSE results had been the highest in the county and he had won a scholarship to this really good school, which he loves.

Let me just say that everyone, without exception, has said how much the support they were given by the members of Northumberland County of Sanctuary and the Red Cross has meant to them. They are all passing on the love and help to others as they build their new lives.

I started volunteering because I felt it was time to stand up and be counted for what I believe. I’d heard that people seeking asylum were going to be housed in Northumberland and I wanted to find out what I could actually do to help.

It was one of the best decisions I have ever made.

If you have been inspired by Anne, you can start volunteering with your local City of Sanctuary group today. We support and coordinate 120+ local groups all over the UK, become a regular donor and help us grow this movement of welcome. Thank you so much.