Norwich youth group prepares rucksacks of essentials for asylum seekers

The Youth Group at St John the Baptist’s Cathedral, Norwich, have responded to the refugee crisis both practically and emotionally, by packing rucksacks for asylum seekers arriving in Norwich and by writing messages of hope to refugees at home and abroad.

Along with teenagers in the confirmation group, the youth group collected basic goods and toiletries from parishioners and Notre Dame school. As accommodation for asylum seekers tends to be basic, cleaning items such as jiffy clothes were especially appreciated. The list of items that the group collected was compiled using feedback from asylum seekers, meaning everything the Youth Group collected was useful.

In order to make packing the dozens of rucksacks fun, one of the race organisers, Carol Chiltern, made it into a game. Once Carol had explained the difference between refugees and asylum seekers, the children had to find all 20 items for the rucksack by doing a competitive scavenger hunt outside, which resulted in a very frantic 15 minutes!

The packed rucksacks will now be stored with volunteers before being given to asylum seekers when they arrive in Norwich. The youth group prepared 60 bags in April and from this weekend’s efforts have another 18 ready for use.

Packing the bags was especially poignant for some members of the youth group, as Jo Graham, lead catechist at St John’s, explained: “For some, collecting goods for people in need is all academic, but within the parish we have a growing number of refugees and asylum seekers. For them, it’s a lived experience and they make it very real – the bags stop being packed for some nameless individual. Some members of the group were saying ‘when we arrived here, we had this in our bag’ and so, which is quite mindboggling for some of the children.

“One chap told the children his story of leaving Zambia, when he had to cross a river full of crocodiles at night as part of his journey. He’s now afraid of water. The children were mesmerised by his story and it made them realise that whilst we’re the last stop, there have been many along the way.”

The Youth Group haven’t just engaged in practical action, but also responded emotionally. CAFOD has been encouraging people to respond to the refugee crisis with respect and love through writing messages of hope to refugees, which are then shared with refugees in the UK and around the world. The Youth Group were inspired by the campaign and responded in a way which brought the parish community together.

Parishioners were invited to place a sticker on a map to show their country of origin, before writing messages expressing their solidarity with refugees. 254 messages were collected from parishioners, who came from over 50 countries around the world, from Mexico to Iceland to the Philippines. These messages are now going to be distributed by CAFOD to refugees at home and abroad.

One message, from a young parishioner named Beatrix, read: “I think that you are being very brave and I hope you feel welcome in our country. I want you to feel that you are now somewhere safe. I will always be praying for you and thinking about you.”

Stephen Matthews, CAFOD representative in Norwich, said: “It’s wonderful to see young people taking the lead and helping others to see, as Pope Francis said, that ‘migrants and refugees are brothers and sisters to be welcomed, respected and loved’. Keep up the good work!”