Volunteers' Week 2022: what it's like to be part of the Praxis community
Our work wouldn’t be possible without our amazing volunteers! They get involved with so many aspects of our work, from helping our advice team to running workshops and supporting our group sessions. They underpin the work we do and make such a difference as part of the Praxis community.
For Volunteers Week 2022, we asked them to speak a little bit about volunteering with us. Here are three of our volunteers speaking about why they joined Praxis and what being part of our community means to them.
Meet Zahraa
Zahraa joined us in 2018, inspired to be a change maker for displaced people. Since then, both in and outside of Praxis, she’s been working to help migrants and refugees experience homelessness, trafficking, abuse and destitution.
Praxis was a huge turning point in my life and completely shaped my interest for public interest work. I had started volunteering there when I was a student in law school and thought I wanted to go down the commercial law route, only to realise that my true calling (I am cringing at this word but I don’t want to use interest twice lol) lied in public interest work. Praxis shed light on the universe of things wrong with our systems, woke my interest in social justice and set the tone for everything I would go on to do.
I have taken on many projects in the emergency response sector in my home country, and that offered the community there much needed relief. Praxis was key in that as I simply would not have engaged with this sector and these projects without my earlier contact with it.
My favourite thing about Praxis is its environment and its people. From service users to staff, every single person you will interact with is so welcoming and nurturing.
My favourite moments are when we secure successful outcomes for our clients. All the small wins, from securing a semblance of safety for a distressed/vulnerable person and providing them some sort of relief, to ensuring they understand that we’re here to fight the system tooth and nail until we achieve nothing short of decent and humane. Successful outcomes thankfully happen often here at Praxis and make it hard to lose sight of why we do what we do.
In the future, I hope that Praxis will continue to be a safe haven for its service users and a great channelling tool for anyone wanting to contribute and give back at an individual scale, it really does that so incredibly well.
Meet Sophyat
After having positive experiences joining our group for young people facing immigration issues, Brighter Futures, Sophyat decided to volunteer with our No Recourse to Public Funds Action Group. It’s always great when people using our services want to get more involved with the Praxis community and other parts of our work!
There are so many things I like about Praxis but just to say a few, I love the diversity, the opportunity shared and given to explore your creativity and the common understanding we share which is to help. Every moment is amazing most especially moments we have great outcomes on our work, that makes it special because I know I had an impact on that positive change.
Meet Jill
Retired civil servant Jill learned about Praxis after reading “The Windrush Betrayal” from journalist Amelia Gentleman, one of our key partners in exposing the injustices of the Home Office towards members of the Windrush generation.
After studying the British Empire as part of my history degree, I wanted to do positive as an ally to migrants to the UK. Volunteering with Praxis was the obvious choice.
I help run the crèche for WINGS [our group for mothers and children]. We are trying to make it a fun learning experience for the children, whatever stage they are at. I love it when a child who has been unhappy to be away from mum becomes comfortable in the crèche and when a child who has been shy gives me a beaming smile.
I hope that Praxis continues to punch above its weight in the support it gives to migrants and those who work with them.
Meet Faith
Faith came to Praxis through a work placement as a graduate student at SOAS studying Migration and Diaspora studies. She currently volunteers with our NRPF Action Group.
Throughout my time at Praxis, I have loved learning from the many individuals who come together with different backgrounds and experiences to strengthen our campaign group. For example, in the NRPF Action Group, each week I hear from other students, staff, and members whose unique lens teaches me about the experience of migrants in the UK from a new lens or detail. My favourite moment volunteering with Praxis was the day we received the news that the Government decided to reverse its former policy and extend free school meals to children with NRPF status. We were mid-meeting, planning our next steps in the campaign to achieve this specific goal when we received the news.
Thank you to Zahraa, Sophyat, Jill and Faith for speaking with us, and to all our volunteers for what they give to Praxis. If you’d like to be part of the communmity and make a difference, find out what roles are available and get in touch with the volunteering team.