Belong Nottingham is a grassroots refugee-led community organisation which as been delivering services for Asylum Seekers, Refugees and other newly arrived migrants since 2002. We have an excellent track record of promoting and facilitating social and economic integration of migrant communities. We deliver projects to help our users develop confidence and skills whilst promoting their integration into the UK society. We are currently delivering the following services:
· English classes - particularly focussing on ESOL for those who cannot access college courses or cannot get funding due to their immigration status.
· IT classes - supporting people to become computer literate through the Learn My Way programme.
· Employability support – one to one coaching and job clubs supporting people to access employment. Assisting refugees with CV writing, job search, completing applications and interview preparation.
· Volunteering - Belong has a base of volunteers to assist with delivery of services. We have also coordinated research looking into the barriers that prevent refugees and asylum seekers volunteering in their community.
-Youth project - recreational and learning activities for young people in order to prepare them for the world of work and prevent them from becoming involved in crime and anti-social behaviour.
Belong is a grassroots organisation that is led by refugees and migrants. All of our trustees have experience of migration to the UK and resettling in Nottingham, therefore they represent the communities we support and understand their needs. We also have a high proportion of refugees and migrants on our staff and volunteer team, who contribute to project development through consultation at team meetings. Our CEO, Jen-Didier Mualaba arrived in the UK feeling conflict and persecution in DRC and has worked to build the capacity of refugee communities for over 20 years. As our team has grown and developed, we have continued to focus on recruitment of people with lived experience of seeking sanctuary and now have many nationalities and languages represented in our team.
