RefuAid

We've kicked off 2025 with some incredible stories and life-changing successes through our loan programme. In just the first 8 weeks of this year, we've provided £93,657 in loans, creating powerful opportunities and fresh starts. We've helped 12 remarkable professionals, including doctors from Syria, pharmacists from Afghanistan, and even an Able Seaman from Cameroon, re-accredit and re-enter their professions in the UK, with loans totalling £58,294. Two families are no longer homeless, thanks to £11,930 in loans that enabled them to move from temporary accommodation into safe, secure homes. 10 loans were made, totalling £23,433, to cover the cost of flights for families being safely and legally reunited from conflict zones. Families had been separated by conflicts in countries such as Syria, Iraq, Iran and others. In January and February 12 previous loan recipients have fully repaid their loans (yay!). We've had £57,479.36 repaid back into our revolving fund, with a balance of £1,353,422 currently out in loans. Every number tells a human story of resilience, potential, and a brighter future. We're transforming lives, one powerful, interest-free, loan at a time. #WeAreOne --------------------------------------------------------------------- Image: a pic from a recent family reunification at the airport.

When Tamsyn and I first met in September 2015, we were simply two people compelled to act. The image of Aylan Kurdi, etched into the consciousness of so many, pushed us to join forces and organise practical support for refugees arriving in Europe. What we witnessed in Lesvos was harrowing: capable, determined individuals left in limbo, denied access to the tools needed to rebuild their lives. It was there that the seed of RefuAid was planted—a determination to remove barriers and create opportunities for independence, dignity, and hope. Today, I’m thrilled to announce a new chapter for RefuAid. In collaboration with Breaking Barriers, we are transferring our language and reaccreditation programmes to their expert team. This will enable them to build on their fantastic work in refugee employment and integrate language tuition and reaccreditation guidance into their offer. Together, Breaking Barriers and RefuAid are creating a model of collaboration that is rare in the charity sector—one that plays to each strengths to maximise impact. For RefuAid, this means a laser focus on scaling our innovative loan scheme, making us the go-to organisation for financial access for refugees. Our interest-free loans, up to £10,000, will continue to cover essential costs like licensing, training, exams, housing, education, and family reunification. By dedicating all our resources to lending, we can ensure more refugees overcome financial barriers to rebuild their lives in meaningful and sustainable ways. This partnership reflects what collaboration can achieve. It’s bold, it’s practical, and it’s focused on impact. Together, we are creating a clearer, more streamlined support landscape: Breaking Barriers for employment support and RefuAid for financial support. To founders and colleagues in the charity sector: we can put collaboration before ego, focus on strengths, and drive innovation in a space where it’s so desperately needed. To Matt: thank you for being the founder-sibling I needed. It’s been incredible to share this mission with you over the last few years, and I am so proud of what we’ve achieved—first in parallel, and now together! To Ciara and Andrew: thank you for your dedication and hard work in completing this merger, your patience in navigating the complexities of working with three founders, and your unwavering commitment to integrating RefuAid’s language and reaccreditation programmes into Breaking Barriers. To Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP, our pro bono law firm: a huge thank you for getting the merger over the line. Your tireless efforts, often late into the night, have been invaluable, and we wouldn’t be here without you. To our team, now part of the Breaking Barriers family: thank you for trusting us and for your steadfast commitment to our clients’ futures. Tamsyn, Mohib, and Kate - you are the most phenomenal people, colleagues and friends who inspire me every day. Let’s get to work! Anna x Full Statement: www.refuaid.org/merger #WeAreOne

Trying to play it cool, but absolutely buzzing to be part of this incredible line-up at the NextGen Conference 2024 today at the Barbican Centre! I’m honoured to join my amazing friend Clover Hogan, along with a powerhouse of speakers including Alastair Campbell, Jordan Schwarzenberger, Mete Coban MBE, Sophie Pender, Giel Malual and many more people helping to shape the future. As a panellist on the Refugee Vote session, hosted by Ben & Jerry's, I’ll be discussing the vital importance of political representation and voting rights for refugees and asylum seekers. This is a topic so close to my heart, and I’m thrilled to see it front and centre of today’s agenda. Looking forward to the discussions and to spend the day with such an inspiring group of people, tackling the most pressing issues of our time. #WeAreOne

It was a total privilege to be shortlisted for The Lloyds British Business Excellence Awards for our work with our wonderful partners Moneyline and attend the awards ceremony last night with Mohib Ullah and Rachael Magowan. We were truly honoured to be finalists in the "Purpose Before Profit" category for the work we’ve achieved on the Equal Access Loan Programme, breaking down barriers of financial exclusion for refugees across the UK. We may not have won this time around, but being shortlisted in such an inspiring lineup is a fantastic achievement in itself. Though nobody likes to lose, we couldn’t have lost to a better group of peers in the impact sector! We know ABDUL R SHIIL, Andre Spence and Ezekiel Johnson had a tough call to make, and chose a well-deserving winner. Congratulations to ABL Health on taking the top prize, and to Belu for receiving highly commended status! So, so well deserved. Sharing the evening with so many inspiring businesses and hearing stories of resilience, success and hope has only deepened our drive to keep building social impact. We’re excited to keep moving forward with incredible partners by our side, and we look forward to what the next year holds for expanding and strengthening our lending operations and providing Equal Access to finance for refugees in the UK #WeAreOne

It’s no coincidence we’re sharing this report today.   We hope it shows in some small way what is possible when hope wins out, when unity prevails. When we choose to look at what we all have in common rather than what may divide us.   Thank you, to our tireless and dedicated team at RefuAid and to everyone else who has made this possible, from donations, to placements, mentorships, insight days, for all the connections, offerings of advice, accommodation and friendship to clients and guidance for us as a growing organisation. It has meant and achieved so much. And there’s lots more to do!   Supporting people who’ve arrived in a new country fleeing war and persecution to live a dignified and independent life makes moral sense. It makes economic sense. It makes social sense. It is common sense. It brings communities together, it allows us to share opinions, life experiences, culture, beliefs with one another, it allows us to learn and to grow – all things that enrich the human experience.    Over the next year RefuAid is undertaking a gear shift, there’s a lot to do. We’ll be focusing our efforts on scaling access to finance for refugees across the UK, providing interest-free loans that enable financial access to housing; family reunification; reaccreditation and education. Helping as many people as we can live independently in the new country, they find themselves in.    #WeAreOne

It was fantastic to visit Parliament yesterday with Mohib Ullah to support the campaign for a Fair Banking Act. The talks we heard and the conversations reiterated just how crucial truly fair access to finance is for real economic growth and inclusion. We heard from Lloyd Hatton, Chair of the APPG on Fair Banking, several leading voices from within CDFIs, Credit Unions, their customers, and Michael Sheen, all sharing powerful stories about the real need for change. Stand out moments for me were Emma Lower from Lendology CIC's speech, representing Responsible Finance, highlighting the impact of affordable credit, especially for those most disadvantaged by current financial systems and Tynah Matembe DEEU's talk on the incredible work MoneyMatiX: Inclusive Financial Education are carrying out. It was lovely to see so many familiar faces and new friends too. At RefuAid, we’ve seen the direct impact that access to fair finance has on people’s lives. It’s why we’re more committed than ever to scaling up our lending provision and why we’re building Merit AI —to create transparent, fair, and accessible credit for everyone. #WeAreOne

Delighted that RefuAid is the newest member of Responsible Finance. Since launching our Equal Access Loan programme in 2017, the first interest-free, character-based lending scheme for refugees in the UK, we've helped many individuals return to their professions, secure housing, and reunite with their families. Joining Responsible Finance allows us to amplify our efforts in breaking down financial barriers and promoting financial inclusion for those who are disproportionately affected by financial exclusion. We're entering an exciting time of expansion of our loan provision and look forward to further collaboration with the social finance sector and together working towards meaningful and long-term financial integration. #weareone #financialinclusion #responsiblefinance

Thrilled that RefuAid have become the newest member of Responsible Finance. Over the next year, we’re embarking on an ambitious journey to scale our loan provision and help newly arrived individuals in the UK access the finance they need to return to work, secure private housing, and reunite with their loved ones. Collaborating with the social finance sector, sharing challenges, and learning from one another is at the heart of our strategy. We're incredibly happy to join this passionate community, and we’re excited about what we can achieve together #WeAreOne

A huge thank you Startups Magazine, honoured to be included on this list alongside some incredible female leaders 💪🌎 #WeAreOne

Love, they say, is the only emotion stronger than fear. It's been a real challenge to remember this over the past few days, whilst surrounded by so much hatred, violence and aggression. But it really is more important than ever. Division is fuelled by fear, hatred and misinformation. And what we’ve seen play out across our beautiful country this weekend is the result of a very deliberately constructed fear that has no substance in reality. It’s a baseless fear that has grown like a cancer on social media, inside mobile phones and laptops, and has now spilled out onto our streets. The ultimate lie that is being perpetuated is that we are all so inherently different from one another. That our religious beliefs, skin colour, language, birthplace, accent, have any weight on our characters. The vast, vast, majority of us can see the ugliness of this lie, laid bare as illogical, misguided and fundamentally wrong. We are the people who see value in diversity, tolerance, compassion and peace and we are the majority. But a minority are still believing this lie or, if not believing it, using it as an outlet for anger and trauma. The results are heart-breaking: the destruction of communities; division; violent attacks on peace-loving people trying to live their lives in peace; places of peace and faith burnt; libraries destroyed; hundreds, possibly thousands of parents questioning if it’s safe to send their children to school because they worry their beliefs, race, heritage or passport colour will make them a target. We condemn this. And we know it does not represent our country. Amongst the heart-break, anger and sadness we have seen countless acts of solidarity, community, love and friendship. Ultimately, human nature is to love, to live peacefully, to study, to work, to laugh, to celebrate, and to feel. We all enjoy different ways of doing this, but inherently we are all driven to love. Whilst companies want to sell, politicians want to persuade, dictators want to rule and conquer, and technology wants to manipulate, it’s people – your colleague, your mechanic, your hairdresser, the person you buy your milk from, your neighbour, your doctor, your teacher, your friends – who just want to love. We have more in common than that which divides us.