Ahhh, how the soup simmered. September 2019 – when Lockdown was a word unmentioned, and the future couldn’t have been predicted! And so, on a sunny Autumn afternoon, we gathered for soup which different groups had made, sharing something of who they are through a bowl full of goodness, no distance between us!
The event was organised by Croeso Butetown, a group of people from St Mary’s Church, Tabernacl Chapel and the South Wales Islamic Centre who were working together as part of the Community Sponsorship of Syrian Refugees with Citizens UK.
It’s been a few years since we started the process, and the long year of Lockdown and the temporary freeze of the Resettlement programme has caused the project to linger a little. But we’re still here and still planning, particularly since the resettlement programme has restarted.
We now hope that we’ll be able to follow a slightly different route, taking a fresh approach which makes the application process far simpler. If this works out we’ll be able to submit a new application to a process which is more slim-lined and easier to prepare to welcome and support a refugee family.
We’re grateful to the patient group of people who have continued on the journey, and welcome those who have more recently joined the ship!
Although we’ve already raised in excess of £9,000, an amount required to accompany the application to the Home Office, we’ve set ourselves a new target of £12,000.
We’re regularly scanning the housing market to see what kind of houses are becoming available for rent, so if you’re a landlord with properties in the Butetown and Bay area, and would like to explore the possibilities of renting a house to a family fleeing danger then we’d love to hear from you!
Maybe, when lockdown becomes a thing of the past, we’ll gather for another bowl of soup together!
St Mary the Virgin, Cardiff 