Welcoming Afghan nationals to Canterbury

Afghan Locally Employed Staff Relocation Scheme

There has been an enormous and heart warming response to the Afghan Locally Employed Staff Relocation Scheme in Canterbury. Canterbury Welcomes Refugees is supporting Canterbury City Council and the Home Office in bringing initial welcome and support to the families temporarily placed in Canterbury. As you will be aware from the media, this relocation has been and continues to be an extremely difficult operational challenge to bring out as many families as quickly as possible.

At present we have been asked not to collect much by way of in kind donations as some of the families will be moving on to more permanent accommodation in other parts of the country quite quickly. The basic needs of the families will be met by Home Office funding for the Afghan Locally Employed Staff Relocation Scheme. There is a useful media fact sheet for information on the scheme: FACTSHEET: UK support to resettle Afghan nationals - Home Office in the media (blog.gov.uk) CWR volunteers are helping with the assessment of needs and providing practical support and we would appreciate financial donations so that we can respond quickly to needs as they arise. Donations can be made here.

Afghan Resettlement Scheme

There is no further information available yet on the new Afghan Resettlement scheme announced by the Home Secretary on Wednesday . As soon as we have more information to share, we will do so right away. In partnership with Canterbury City Council, CWR will support Afghan nationals resettling in Canterbury in the future and we are involved in planning on how this can be achieved. Together we have supported families through the Syrian Vulnerable Person’s Resettlement Scheme and with your help we can help more families fleeing war, violence and persecution.