Syrian refugee supporting young people settle in the UK through Coventry charity

The 22-year-old refugee helps others tackle the challenges he faced.

Author: Lia DesaiPublished 2nd Feb 2023
Last updated 2nd Feb 2023

A Syrian refugee has supported dozens of newly arrived young people (NAYP) settle in Coventry, through a local charity.

Dalshier Othman has helped around 30 refugees start a new life in the city through Positive Youth Foundation (PYF)’s Boost programme.

Dalshier, who fled the war in Syria with his family in 2019, participated in English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) provision offered by PYF to help him integrate.

The 22-year-old, who is a Youth Engagement Officer for the charity, now helps others tackle the challenges he faced.

Dalshier said: "The thing I enjoyed most while supporting the programme is that it reminded me of when I came to the UK. I came here in a similar way, and now I am helping them.

"As a newly arrived young person and a student, I can say there is a big difference in young people who are isolated and are not able to practise talking or listening in English.

"The young people were able to practise English every day, I have noticed that every single young person has made a lot of progress through the 10 weeks."

The boost programme is funded through Coventry City Council Migration Team and consists of a 10-week intensive ESOL provision - complete with breakfast and lunch in a dedicated learning space.

School visits, functional skills, and enrichment activities also form part of the programme, which has been delivered to people on the UK Resettlement Scheme, the Afghan Relocations Associations Policy Resettlement Scheme, and recent arrivals from Hong Kong.

PYF, which recently celebrated its 10th anniversary as a charity, supports young people in the city across a range of engagement programmes.

Obayed Hussain, Programmes Manager at PYF, said: "Arriving in any new country represents a massive opportunity for people, but there are so many challenges to overcome and it is inspiring to see Dalshier supporting those who face the same obstacles as he has over the last few years.

"Successful integration into communities, workplaces and other institutions often depends on your ability as a young person to acclimatise very quickly to the education system.

"The hope for this programme was to give young people the tools to understand the education system and give them a taste of being in a school environment before enrolment, reducing the risk of them being side-lined, ostracised or left behind in class, and we are incredibly lucky to have people like Dalshier supporting that goal."

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