“The families we welcomed aren’t thought of as refugees – they’re the barber, the builder, the parents at the school gate. They’re part of the fabric of the community…”

Vicky’s story of welcome is a powerful demonstration of how communities can successfully welcome and integrate refugee families. 

How did your journey with Community Sponsorship begin? 

I wasn’t involved with refugees before 2015. I was working on environmental projects in Welsh communities when my neighbour asked me to join a refugee organisation. Because it was my neighbour, I automatically said yes.  

I went to the Calais refugee camp and had an amazing experience. I met wonderful, cultured people. We had arguments, told jokes, made friends – I really enjoyed myself. But when it came time to leave, I suddenly realised they had nowhere to go, no future, no home. And I could just waltz off whenever I pleased. It broke my heart. 

I also felt many of them could be a great asset in our rural communities with ageing populations needing young, energetic people. I thought we could host them at our own expense. That’s when I started campaigning for Community Sponsorship to come to the UK. 

How did you prepare your community for the first family’s arrival? 

We wanted to make sure the town actually wanted to welcome refugees. We did high-profile events – street busking, concerts, tables at Christmas fairs and before films. This enabled people to join the team but also to see whether there was a genuine desire to welcome.  

One of the most important things we did was go door-to-door on the estate where the family would be living. We explained about the new neighbours coming. That face-to-face contact is everything. One person said, “Tell them to come for coffee when they arrive.” 

We also asked for spare clothes and toys. The kind of people who might have resented immigrants became benefactors. They had mountains of spare clothes. We didn’t say no to any of it and thanked everybody. The family became very well known before they even arrived. 

What was going through your mind before the first family arrived? 

I was worried because we’d taken responsibility for an entire family and we barely knew anything about them. We knew that we weren’t going to give up on them. But what would they be like? 

When we met them at the airport, we were all quite emotional and hyped up. We stopped at a cafe and played with the children – brought out toys, plasticine, a tin whistle. We had fun with them and got to know them from that point on. 

They were a great family. Very brave, with no English whatsoever. Well, the husband had three words: “Welcome. Thank you. Hello.” He trotted those out in different orders when we did a speech in a pub! 

What was the community response like once the family arrived? 

It exceeded our expectations. Even on the bus, people came up and said, “Oh, you’re the family that’s come.” Strangers would give them lifts when they saw them walking with shopping. It was a high-trust environment. 

The husband would shake strangers by the hand when he went shopping and say who he was. They were bringing their culture and meeting a Welsh culture of community.  

Can you tell me about how the families have integrated? 

The second family’s husband wanted to be a barber straight away. We found places for him to volunteer, and eventually a member of our team helped him get his own business in a nearby town. Now he’s a well-known character there. I dropped in recently and one of the guys having a shave was telling him all about a public event in town – which pub sold out of soup, how it was a great success. Nobody thinks of him as a refugee. He’s just the barber you tell stories to. 

The first family’s husband was keen to work. We found him jobs where he could speak English and practice the language. We took him to an open day at a college, not thinking he had enough English, but they offered him a place doing general building work. Our interpreter convinced him to take it, and he became student of the year. The college loved him so much they gave him lots of tools when he left. Now he has a permanent job as a builder, and his employer adores him. 

When the family needed to find new accommodation, I told his employer, “You’ve got to help. You need to put his wages up.” He said, “I would do anything for him. How much?” Just like that. He loves him. 

Have there been cultural misunderstandings? 

Of course. An important one involved education. After some time, the first family told us they weren’t happy with their children being in a Welsh-medium school where they were immersed in Welsh. They said, “We want them to learn English. We don’t mind if they learn Welsh later, but first they must learn English.” 

It was completely reasonable. I arranged a meeting with the school, who took it very seriously and brought someone from Welsh government. Our family argued their case with great coherence and passion – I was impressed. They were negotiating. 

The school gave them a full hearing and said, “Leave it until Christmas. You will see they will speak English and Welsh.” And they did. After that, the father changed his attitude to Welsh and was willing to learn a bit himself.