St. Bride’s
DESTITUTION
PROJECT
Every Thursday afternoon since early 2005, up to 75 people from countries such
as DR Congo, Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Iraq and Iran come to St. Bride’s Church,
Old Trafford, to receive food for the coming week. They are destitute asylum
seekers, people who have fled persecution in their home countries and have
come here to seek refuge. With their cases rejected, unable to return home,
not allowed to work, with nowhere to live and no food, St. Bride’s Destitution
Project provides desperately needed food for these people. As well as supplying
basic food, other partners at the project provide money to cover the bus fare,
toiletries, support and advice.
The Church is called to be a beacon of light, feeding the hungry and caring for
those in need. We currently do not have enough funds to continue the project at
the level that is necessary to help people, who have no other choice, to survive.
Please help, and give us a donation.
Thank you.
The project is a partnership between St. Bride’s Church (Trafford), the
British Red Cross & The Boaz Trust.
Who are destitute Asylum seekers?
Asylum seekers are people who are fleeing from persecution in their home countries.
They may have spoken up against human rights abuses, supported another leader
against a military dictator, had their house burnt down after they became a Christian
in an ardently Muslim neighbourhood or simply have been of the ‘wrong’ nationality.
They often leave behind successful businesses, their family and everything they have
ever known. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that “Everyone has
the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.” However,
when applying for refugee status in this country, 80% cases are disbelieved, often due
to lack of evidence.
When someone’s case is refused, the Home Office “The people are just like
allows them 21 days notice to leave their you and I. They’re not
accommodation, at which time the financial scroungers, they’d love to
provision of £37 a week will also be stopped. This work and give something
is despite often having no means to leave the back to the community”
country either by land, sea or air. Many feel that (A Boaz volunteer)
their good grounds for claiming asylum have been
poorly represented or they simply fear returning to their home country and so are
forced to begin to live a life of utter destitution. They are not allowed to work, have
nowhere to live and no way of getting food.
Local agencies estimate that there could be over 1,000 destitute asylum seekers living
rough or on friends’ floors in Greater Manchester. Figures are difficult to ascertain as
most of the destitute are living ‘out of sight’, often on the streets, and are not eligible
for any statutory help. They essentially become ‘Living Ghosts’, who are airbrushed
out of existence as ‘failed
Hamed is a cheerful, intelligent young man, always
asylum seekers’ and whose
willing to lend a hand. He is also a destitute asylum
plight goes largely ignored by
seeker. He grew up as a herdsman looking after cattle in
society at large. Some receive
Darfur. One day, he returned home to find everyone in his
support of a basic food parcel
village murdered, including his family. For the next three
from destitution projects
weeks he walked through the desert to the coast,
across the country – these are
travelling only at night, before boarding a ship. When he
often facilitated through the
arrived at Liverpool he had no idea where he was, unable
goodwill and charity of faith
to speak English and with only the clothes he was
community
groups
standing up in. With no evidence to prove his case (having and
working together with the
no handy documents and photos), his claim was rejected,
British Red Cross.
and Hamed became destitute, relying on the goodwill of
others for food and accommodation.
So who comes to the St. Bride’s Destitution Project? When asked
about their previous job, we found a nurse, a mechanic, a
businessman, an electrician, an NGO worker, a student, a doctor, a
journalist, a herdsman, an eye surgeon, a farmer, a policeman…
“There but for the grace of God go I” (A volunteer)
Hamed
St. Bride’s Destitution Project
Every Thursday afternoon about 70 destitute
asylum seekers walk through the doors of St.
Bride’s Church to collect some food for the
week. These are people who have fled from
persecution in their home countries, such as DR
Congo, Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Iraq and Iran,
but whose asylum claims have been refused due
to lack of evidence. They do not receive any
government benefits or accommodation, and as
they have no right to work they have no way of
making money, nowhere to live and no food.
An asylum seeker from Darfur, who
On offer is:
volunteers
at the project, lays out toiletries
 A weekly food parcel, containing staples
like rice, pasta and sugar; non-perishable
tinned goods; some fresh fruits and vegetables.
 £3.70 a week to cover bus fare
 Toiletries, once a month
 Help with forms
 Advice
 Occasional other provisions (haircut, massage, doctor)
 Some clothing
 Opportunities to meet others from their communities in a safe environment
 English classes depending on demand
 Assessment of the possibility of other classes, such as cookery and growing
vegetables
 Tea and coffee
 A warm welcome
“There’s always someone here to talk to, to give a bit of encouragement. There’s
clothing provided, which we cannot afford – we can keep warm on top of the food.”
An asylum seeker
The food on Thursday afternoon, ready to be distributed
The Food Parcel
Take a moment to think about the food you eat each week – the quantity, the choice,
the pleasure you take over meals. Now imagine that you are rationed in what you can
eat….
Over Lent, some volunteers undertook the Lent Endurance Challenge, to live for a
week on the food parcel that an asylum seeker receives. People found it hard,
particularly having the lack of choice. The food really is the bare minimum a person
can live on, but as one asylum seeker said, “Better this food than empty hands”.
One person who did the Endurance Challenge said “My mind keeps going to
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. I have sat in so many training sessions looking at that
triangle, thinking how we achieve that self-actualisation. I don’t think I have ever
really considered the base of the triangle. Basic human needs…survival!”
Asylum seekers are often portrayed in the media as benefit hunters, living a life of
luxury. Receiving nothing from the Government, what is in the Food Parcel they
receive at the Destitution Project?
Tinned Goods
Tin of soup
Tin of baked beans
Tin of plum tomatoes
Tin of garden peas
Tin of chick peas
Tin of hotdogs
Tin of sweetcorn
Tin of tuna
Tin of sardines
Dried Goods
Fresh fruit & vegetables
Vegetable oil (one bottle a month)
1 orange
Carton of orange or apple juice
1 banana
Carton of milk
1 pear
Bar of chocolate
1 apple
Packet of biscuits
2 onions
Teabags (14)
2 medium-sized potatoes
Loaf of bread
Bag of pasta or spaghetti
Rice (500g)
Sugar (330g)
Salt (250g)
Note: All products are from the Asda Value Range
We will not be able to provide even this basic food unless we receive more money!
The food parcel – the only food some asylum
seekers get for the whole week.
Finance
This project has been running for two years and the present funding is coming to the
end. The project has been funded over the past 2 years by the Church Urban Fund,
Central Church Fund and various smaller Funds.
To buy the food the Destitution Project requires costs £31,668 over the two years. The
Church Urban Fund has given £10,000 but over £21,000 is still needed.
Income
Church Urban Fund
Red Cross Re-imbursements:
Bus Fares (£3.70 p.w. for 75)
Toiletries
Total
Total Income promised at
present over two years (08-09)
Expenditure
Toiletries
Bus Fares (3.70 p.w. for 75)
Food (at 300 p.w.)
Total
Total Expenditure over the two
years (08-09)
2008
2009 (+3%)
5,000
5,000
14,430
1,000
20,430
14,863
1,030
20,893
41,323
1,000
14,430
15,600
31,030
1,030
14,863
16,068
31,961
62,991
Please note that there are in kind contributions from:
- St. Bride’s Church, which allows the premises to be used without charge,
along with heating, lighting etc. costs.
- On average 15 volunteers give their time without charge.
It costs nearly £300 a week to fulfil our current commitments and provide food for up
to 75 people. Food prices are rising all the time, and there are always new people
becoming destitute. We currently have less than £100 each week, so with funding
uncertain, we are having to reduce the amount of food from an already basic level.
The project receives no governmental support, and relies entirely on money from
donations, grants and trusts. In order for the project to carry on, and to continue to
provide the level of service that is desperately needed, more funds are required. Can
you help and provide either money or food?
We asked some of the asylum seekers what they would do if they were not able to
receive food from the project. These are some of their responses:
“Stay hungry.”
“Wouldn’t know where else to go.”
“It would be impossible; it’s the only thing that’s sustaining us.”
Response
What’s your response going to be?
The Bible is clear on how we should respond.
In Matthew 25, when Jesus describes separating
the sheep and the goats, he says: ‘I was hungry
and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty
and you gave me something to drink, I was a
stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes
and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked
after me, I was in prison and you came to visit
me.” The righteous ask when they did these
things and his answer is: "I tell you this: anything
you did for one of my brothers here, however
humble, you did for me".
Did you know that Jesus was
an asylum seeker? When he
was still a baby, Jesus'
parents fled their country over
the border to another country,
fearing for his life. They were
able to remain safely over the
border until the threat had
passed, after which time they
returned home.
For these people who have been systematically, officially, and literally left out in the
cold, the project offers warm support and a practical demonstration of Christ’s love.
What can you do?
Would you consider helping the project by:





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Giving food or money
Telling your congregation of the need
Displaying this information on the church notice board
Taking up a special offering
Bringing a delegation to visit the project
Taking up a collection of food (from the list above)
Thank you!
“The last stop before starving on our streets”
Please make cheques or charity vouchers payable to St. Bride’s P.C.C., marking it for
the Destitution Project.
"Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
and break every yoke?
Is it not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe him,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
Isaiah 58: 6-7
The Boaz Trust is a Christian charity that seeks to support destitute asylum seekers in
the Manchester area. Apart from offering various activities such as crafts, days out
and English classes, it aims to provide accommodation for some of those who are
homeless. Due to the generosity of supporters who loan the houses free of charge, The
Boaz Trust manages 6 houses, providing homes for a total of 24 people - 7 Ethiopian
and 5 Eritrean women, 3 Ethiopian, 3 Eritrean, 2 Congolese, 1 Afghan, 1 Darfuri, 1
Malawian and 1 Guinean man. Others are hosted by people who have a spare room in
their house and are willing to share it with someone on either a short term or a long
term basis. There is a waiting list of around 200 people, who are currently moving
around between friends’ houses or sleeping rough.
Address of The Boaz Trust:
Harpurhey Community Church, Carisbrook Street, Manchester, M9 5UX
Telephone: (0161) 202 1056
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.boaztrust.org.uk
St. Bride’s C of E Church is a friendly, welcoming Church in the middle of Old
Trafford. The Church body reflects the multicultural area of the neighbourhood, with
the congregation of about 80 adults and 30+ children containing over 28 different
nationalities! There is a service of worship each Sunday morning, at 10:30am, and in
the evenings of the second and fourth Sunday of each month at 7pm there is a time of
more informal worship called "Overflow". There are also fortnightly Urdu services
and weekly worship or an Arabic Congregation. The Church houses a Christian youth
project, ‘Eden’ Old Trafford. St. Bride’s Church finds the funding for the food at the
Destitution Project, and allows the premises to be used without charge, along with
heating, lighting and other costs.
Address of St. Bride’s Church:
3 Blair Street, Old Trafford, Manchester, M16 9AZ
Telephone: (0161) 226 6064
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.stbrides.org.uk
Want to give some time? Got a spare room? Could teach English? Good with DIY?
Would like to assist with research for legal cases? Want to help out in any other way?
Then contact The Boaz Trust, or St. Bride’s Church.