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Every year, around 3,000 unaccompanied children and young people arrive in the UK to seek asylum. They have fled countries ravaged by civil wars, ethnic cleansing and indiscriminate violence. Some have witnessed family members being tortured or killed. Others bear the scars of violence and sexual abuse.

Those who escape are the lucky ones. But scars caused by years of mistreatment take a long time to heal. Refugee Action, together with its supporters, is helping young people recover from their traumatic past and start afresh.

Isa, 17, came to Refugee Action earlier this year to seek help. His story is both harrowing and truly inspiring.

Aged 14, Isa was abducted by the notoriously ruthless Ugandan rebel group, the Lord’s Resistance Army. For six months whilst held captive, Isa was assaulted, abused and forced to commit unimaginable atrocities.

“They made me take part in looting villages and burning
down people’s houses. But worse than that, they made me
kill other people and even children. These memories will
never leave me.”

During one of these village lootings Isa managed to escape. A local priest kept him hidden until he arranged for Isa to be taken to the UK with an agent.

The first few weeks were extremely difficult. Abandoned, with only a piece of paper explaining who he was, Isa wandered around Liverpool asking for help.

It is now five months since Isa arrived. He has been given basic support and accommodation by his local authority. Refugee Action was also able to provide independent support and advice which has changed his life.

How Refugee Action helps young unaccompanied refugees like Isa

Our youth workers advised Isa on seeking medical help and accompany him on visits to the hospital, his GP and psychiatrist.

We listened to Isa and discussed what he wanted and with regular contact built up his confidence to enrol on educational courses.

Isa has also made friends through our youth project – they play football together and attend music workshops.

We work with hundreds of extremely vulnerable, young asylum seekers and refugees every year providing them with emotional support, guidance and advice. We also organise sports and art activities and visits to places of interest to help young refugees overcome their isolation.

How you could help a young refugee like Isa

£15 could pay for travel and an hour of a youth worker’s time to accompany a young refugee to their Home Office interview

£25 could pay for 5 young refugees to attend a sports or art event to start making friends and building support networks

£50 could pay for a photography workshop for 10 young refugees giving them a chance to participate in a creative activity to boost their confidence

£100 could pay for 20 young people from both refugee and British backgrounds to participate in a local conservation project learning from each other in a constructive environment

Isa and other young refugees may never fully recover from the horrors they have experienced, but with your support they can try to build a new life for themselves in the UK – please make a donation today.

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