In the summer of 2015, when I had just arrived in my new home in Woodford Green, I attended a meeting of Religious to celebrate The Year of Consecrated life. Alan Williams, the Bishop of our Diocese of Brentwood and himself a Religious, was also there. To my surprise – probably because he saw a new face – he approached me and started a long conversation. By the end of the conversation, he had invited me to join a new Team of Sisters, which he was hoping to start soon after Christmas to respond to the urgent needs of migrants in the Diocese. I was very happy to accept the invitation and, in January, five of us had our first meeting as a Team with Bishop Alan.
Our focus is to co-ordinate and network with others who work on behalf of refugees, asylum seekers and all kinds of vulnerable migrants, especially those with no other means of support. The next meeting – our third – will take place in the French Church in London (run by the Marist Fathers, the Bishop’s Religious Congregation) where we will have an opportunity to meet some of the migrants who use the Parish Centre there. As part of this Diocesan project, I work as a volunteer at the Cardinal Heenan Centre in Ilford where asylum seekers and refugees, many of them homeless, come for various kinds of support and help.
The London Borough of Redbridge, in which Woodford Green is situated, has agreed to host four Syrian families in the very near future. TELCO (The East London Communities Organisation) which has a membership of 6,500 people in the Redbridge Borough is co-operating in this project. I attend TELCO meetings regularly and on 20 March took part in one of their training days on welcoming and providing a safe environment for these families. It was a very powerful and life-giving experience. As part of our preparation to receive the families, 16 members who participated in that day formed five Research Teams so that, among other things, we would be able to answer any questions raised by the Police, Home Office or Social Services. These five Teams deal with Education, Housing, Health, General Needs and Liaising with other important people such as MPs, the Bishop and some Anglican Vicars.
I am a member of the Education Team and have the responsibility of contacting the Principals and Staff of the Redbridge Secondary Schools to inform them about the situation and to ask them to open their schools to the children of these Syrian families. I have also been asked to liaise with the Bishop and with the Vicar of the Anglican Church in Woodford Green on behalf of TELCO. I am very happy to be the link person between these groups and to see the support we are able to give one another in working towards our common aim – the welfare of migrants.
It is a great opportunity for me to get to know deeply the situation of migrants and the policies of the Government and various organisations in their regard. It is wonderful to be able to work with different Congregations of Religious and other groups and put our Provincial Chapter Recommendation into practice by taking action on behalf of people who are obliged to be on the move. It is very enriching for me also to share in the commitment and enthusiasm of Lay People, different Faith Groups, Young People and, of course, our own Bishop Alan.
Celine Nanayakkara.
Woodford Green Community