Dreaming bigger, reaching further: bringing TSG to women who need it
Life in the UK as a migrant, asylum seeker or refugee woman often involves facing isolation, language barriers, and the lingering effects of trauma. In this challenging reality, it’s no surprise that our brand new session for Touching Safe Ground - a unique blend of yoga, English language and community building – is already at full capacity.
But not everyone who wants to attend is able to. When asked what held them back from joining the group, women in a local hostel told us they:
· Had no one to take care of their children
· Had a commitment on TSG days
· Had no money for transport, or weren’t mobile to get to the centre
· Were afraid to leave the hostel in case they were separated from their family or harassed by local residents
Equipped with this information, we started brainstorming how to make the project more accessible to more women.
Bringing down barriers
To tackle scheduling and location barriers – and respond to calls for ‘more yoga, more English’ – we began piloting a second TSG session for women. Only this time, we brought the project to them.
By hosting the sessions in the hostel itself, women didn’t need to worry about being far from family or how they’d get to us. 14 women attended our first in-hostel session – an excellent turnout.
Making space for children to thrive alongside mum
Though the location was no longer an issue, many were still limited by childcare. So we encouraged women to bring their children with them. We introduced a creche to the tea and yoga session which allowed parents to leave their younger children in one part of the room – with a qualified playworker and plenty of toys –while they did yoga in another.
We also recognise that lower reading ages and limited English can put refugee children at a severe disadvantage. So, for the older children, we launched our brand-new homework club to improve these skills and give them a better chance in school. Led by Lucy, our wonderful Outreach Lead, the sterile computer room turned into a vibrant learning space full of educational materials, games, and activities. And lots of glitter!
“Is it every day?”
We’re hugely grateful to everyone who took part in our Feasts for Friendship campaign. Thanks to the money raised, we were able to trial the second TSG session and kickstart our new homework club. Every donation has already made a huge difference to the women and children in our community. But we’ve still got some way to go…
After our yoga session in the hostel, Chun asked hopefully, "Is it every day?" Her question underlines the impact TSG has on migrant and refugee women - and how much more we could do with additional support.
There’s always room for improvement, and with extra funding for TSG, we could:
Purchase additional yoga mats, allowing more women to participate
Train more volunteers, enabling personalised interactions with attendees
Include adaptations for those with limited mobility, e.g chair yoga
Buy educational toys and proper storage to create a more enriching environment for the children in the creche and homework club
Develop study materials for women who are complete beginners in English
Each mat we add, each volunteer we train, each barrier we remove helps another woman along her path to healing.
Support our mission to help migrant families touch safe ground
We're on a mission to ensure no refugee, asylum seeker, or migrant woman faces her journey alone. By supporting Touching Safe Ground, you become part of a community that transforms the lives of women and their children through connection and care.
Donate to Globe Community Project today or follow our social media pages to hear about upcoming fundraising events.
