Looking back over recent posts, one aspect of life I don't think I've even mentioned is my "new" job working a few hours a week for Birch. I say new ... because while I have worked for them since January 2020, the weirdness of the intervening year means it all still feels quite, well, new.
Birch (which stands for Birmingham Community Hosting) was originally founded to match destitute asylum seekers to empty bedrooms of those in Birmingham who were willing to offer a space and a welcome to someone who would otherwise be on the streets. That is still a core part of the charity's work, but there is also a befriending service for young unaccompanied asylum seekers and a "meet and greet" for newly arrived families housed in temporary initial accommodation which was the part I am employed to support. it is a small, grassroots organisation which grew out of a small number of local people caring enough to want to make a difference. It still has very much that feel, and I am very happy to be a part of it.
This month, Birch is celebrating its tenth birthday, and we were invited to write two or three sentences sharing something of what we value about working for Birch. Turns out (who knew?!) I'm not very good at "two or three sentences" but this is what I wrote and I thought it might be appropriate to share it here too:
I started working for Birch in January 2020 ... I think it is fair to say the first year has not entirely gone as I expected! For the first few weeks I had the privilege of meeting an incredible team of volunteers, many of whom brought their own experience as sanctuary seekers ... and who also brought a huge amount of energy, generosity and above all joy. This wonderful team of people were able to restart the meet and greet for families in initial accommodation which had had to close down some months earlier. Short-lived though it turned out to be, I have snippets of beautiful memories from those few sessions: such as spending most of one session with an initially very shy six-year-old who reappeared the following week with his much older brother who came to ask if we were sure we were only there once a week because it had been such a highlight for him; or the shy young woman who after living in the hotel for several weeks finally dared to venture out of the building for the very first time to come to our session. That was early March.
Despite the fact that everything then got turned on its head, and only now are we able to begin making tentative plans for reopening anything even vaguely similar to what we had before, I have really appreciated being part of the Birch team over the last twelve months: a team who are passionate about the issues faced by asylum seekers and doing what is possible to make them welcome, whatever the circumstances; a team which is open and flexible and responsive to whatever is thrown at it. I am looking forward to what the next year, or ten, might bring!
Who knows, perhaps later in the summer a birthday party may even be possible! In the meantime, as part of the celebration, we are inviting people to donate "£10 for ten years" to support the (sadly still much needed) work of this tiny charity. No pressure ... but all birthday presents welcome! ... and here's the link, you know, just in case!
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