South East landowners win grant for refugee youth project

Martin and Michelle Campbell, respectively deputy chair and chair of volunteer charity Myriad Adventures, have been hosting once-a-year camping weekends for around 20 unaccompanied refugee or asylum seeking youths on the Campbell family Everlands Estate near Sevenoaks since 2005, with the Stuarts joining in at their Windyridge property in the Ashdown Forest since 2008. This year Myriad sponsored a third weekend near Seaford East Sussex.

Expenses are currently met by grants from The Brook Trust and Grassroots, both accessed through Kent Community Foundation. Myriad Adventures have also been working in partnership with Comic Relief sponsored charity SHARED Futures to develop a capacity to support more landowners to take part in the project.

Michelle said "It's been wonderful to have the professional support from SHARED Futures. They've been filming both behind the scenes and at Myriad weekends and a best practice DVD should be available in a few weeks time to show other potential hosts what it's all about

"We firmly believe that landowners have a unique contribution to make to the well-being of refugee youth through this sort of hospitality. Being away in attractive peaceful countryside as guests gives the young people a chance to forget their problems and re-connect positively with aspects of their pasts. Whilst we work hard to develop the best outcomes for the young refugees around confidence, practical skills, or better English, at it's heart it's an emotional thing. That's why anyone who cares can do it, it's not at all about expertise."

Myriad Adventures has developed a formula for managing a weekend to lead hosts through all the questions, anxieties and practical problems that will arise for beginners. "Although we've developed our own social circle and friendships through this work already, the SHARED Futures partnership has helped us bring in a new sort of volunteer helper, younger urban people of different ethnic backgrounds, and I think that adds something useful as well as making it all more interesting and fun for everyone involved."

One practical outcome focussed on by Myriad Adventures is having different 'teams' take over the scouts style Mess Tent to produce meals for the whole group of 30 to 35 people. "This gives everyone a chance to make a real contribution and works really well. The young people who believe they can cook get a chance to share that with those who believe they can't, and we like to think we're doing something to wean some of the youngsters away from their neighbourhood fried chicken shop. Tristram has taught himself to shoot deer according to halal rules, and Martin sends a few of his rare breed Soay sheep away to the local halal abattoir every year, so we eat really well. Rabbit and pigeon is also acceptable to some but not all, I think that's just personal taste. Many of these kids have no one else to teach them these basics to life, being an unaccompanied asylum-seeker or refugee means you have no family or guardian in the UK."

Myriad Adventures can be contacted through their website www.myriadadventures.org