Thought for the Week: Big Leaf Summer School

Thought for the Week: Big Leaf Summer School On Wednesday 21 August people from Woking People of Faith were invited to join Big Leaf and the university of Surrey in their summer school on their Faith day. Three of us were involved in the day. The Big Leaf foundation is based in Woking and supports young displaced people throughout Surrey. They support almost 300 young people aged 15 - 25 who have been forced to leave their homes, some fleeing conflict or persecution, some were kidnapped and others lured by a promise of a better life. Projects cover sports, horse activities, creative arts projects, English language schools, casework support, residential workshops, leadership programmes, summer schools and progression activities. Surrey remains the third largest receiver of Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking children in the UK. There around 120 under 18s and a further 315 care leavers. All of them had been shaken by the recent riots and some have been traumatised. Instead of finding the UK a welcoming safe place they had found it to be a very hostile place but fortunately for us there have been no disturbances in Surrey but there were in Alton. During the day we talked to the young people and took part in the programme. Many of them were from Eritrea, Ethiopia and Afghanistan. Their English varied and they were welcoming and engaged with us and the programme. There was a quiz on different faiths and a discussion on respect for different faiths and on what is common in all faiths. The values of respect, peace and harmony were emphasised. We visited the university chapel and the cathedral. We had a talk from a police officer as a key part of the programme was to make the young people aware of their rights and ready to engage with the police and be ready to call on them for help if necessary and not to see them as enemies. He talked about the riots and how many officers had been injured and was very positive about the counter demonstrations that were held. I was amazed by the young people’s positive attitude, their embracing of the opportunities they had, their openness and the way they mixed with each other. It was a privilege to be there. The Big Leaf has opportunities for volunteers to be involved in their programmes. Do check them out. Keith Scott, member of the Quaker faith

Date: Monday 9th September 2024