The small difference a room can make for our clients is life changing, as Faith from Eritrea & Alice from Togo experienced:
Faith was from Eritrea, three months pregnant and in poor health. She had been sofa surfing for some time and
had not been able to take proper care of herself.
She was offered a room by Sarah, who had hosted two other people and had found the experience had enriched
her and worked really well. Faith was overwhelmed when she was shown to her room, given a key to the front door
and told to make herself at home and relax. Within a few weeks it was obvious to see the difference in her and the
security meant that she could have proper sleep, have regular appointments with her Midwife and work with her
Solicitor. In the five months that Faith spent with Sarah were clearly life changing. She was finally able to move out
in to shared accommodation provided the government because her baby was due. She and her baby boy are now
doing well. She has said it is impossible to say how wonderful her time with Sarah. Without it, her life and that of
her baby would have been in extreme danger.
"I feel safe and accepted, I cannot ask for anything more.
This is paradise. I did not believe that anyone would welcome a stranger into their home and give them security.
When I receive my status papers, I will open my home to strangers too."
Alice [guest]
A young person's perspective on hosting
My family have been hosting for around six months now and in that time have housed three different guests. My mum first discussed the idea after seeing a news article about hosting families in London and since we had a spare room upstairs, we wanted to do our bit to help. Having previously lived with lodgers me and my sisters were used to growing up in a busy house with extra people and coming from a home of all females, we hoped to provide a safe refuge for other women and make them feel welcome in a new community.
Our first guest ended up staying around 3 months and whilst we didn’t know what quite to expect, she quickly became integrated with the family. Many guests may feel as equally apprehensive about living with a complete stranger and so we did our best to put them at ease. We have been cooked delicious Kurdish meals and experienced traditional spiced coffee from Chad, smells I will forever associate with these women and the kindness they showed in my time spent with them. Some of them attended college, learning English or getting their own qualifications. Our most recent guest from Zimbabwe had dreams of becoming a nurse or a social worker.
Despite being in the middle of my exams, these women caused very little disruption to my daily routine and instead improved my knowledge of global affairs and appreciation for new cultures. Knowing we have provided comfort and friendship during a time of uncertainly for these people has allowed me to feel less helpless when seeing terrors on the news, as well as grateful that I have been able to play a role in stories less covered by the media but are equally as heart breaking. We hope to continue hosting for as long as we are needed.
Rachael, 17
Our first guest ended up staying around 3 months and whilst we didn’t know what quite to expect, she quickly became integrated with the family. Many guests may feel as equally apprehensive about living with a complete stranger and so we did our best to put them at ease. We have been cooked delicious Kurdish meals and experienced traditional spiced coffee from Chad, smells I will forever associate with these women and the kindness they showed in my time spent with them. Some of them attended college, learning English or getting their own qualifications. Our most recent guest from Zimbabwe had dreams of becoming a nurse or a social worker.
Despite being in the middle of my exams, these women caused very little disruption to my daily routine and instead improved my knowledge of global affairs and appreciation for new cultures. Knowing we have provided comfort and friendship during a time of uncertainly for these people has allowed me to feel less helpless when seeing terrors on the news, as well as grateful that I have been able to play a role in stories less covered by the media but are equally as heart breaking. We hope to continue hosting for as long as we are needed.
Rachael, 17
