Emotional Experience
The experience was too emotional for Khan to overcome. Yet, she feels blessed for being able to provide help.
“The more involved I am with this kind of volunteering, the more determined I become to keep doing what I can to help. Some volunteers become so affected that they cannot continue, and some become stronger, more resilient, more committed to helping,” she said.
“I thank Allah for blessing me with the qualities to be someone who helps. I have established an excellent network of fellow volunteers and coordinators. Together, we manage to achieve a lot of good work towards helping the refugees further.”
Arjumand Paracha
Arjumand Paracha: Volunteering in the UK
“Since May 2020, I have been volunteering with a local community action group to support and mainly feed and source essential items for refugees placed in Reading,” Paracha told AboutIslam.
“Some local volunteers started the initiative some months earlier when they realized that despite placing refugees in a local hotel, they did not get nutritional food or access to essential items such as toiletries, underwear, shoes, a change of clothing, baby food.”
Paracha’s journey with helping refugees started through a Facebook group plea for donations and volunteers.
“I have been working in the charitable sector for over 10 years in various capacities including working for a local Women’s Aid charity where sometimes the clients most at risk had refugee status,” she said.
“What I find heartening is that this could happen to anyone, we are all only one step away from losing everything that we hold dear. By chance, we are lucky enough to live in England and have access to government support, local charities that can help you, free education for our children.”
Nevertheless, she believes there is many areas to help refugees on the local level.
“What would help to change is for the media to state clearly, what support these individuals get when they get here, how they can be moved from one town to another with less than a day’s notice with just the belongings they can carry,”
“What really needs to happen is for local councils to be involved with local charities providing essential items, a welcome pack of toiletries and clothing they will need.”
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