Settling in

“When I was told that we would be resettled to the UK through the Community Sponsorship scheme, it was a wonderful feeling. Myself and my children were very happy. My first week in the community was quite hard, because everything was new to me. I did not speak the language, but then the people that helped me to come here, they were very helpful with everything, and my neighbours were really lovely.

My children didn’t have any idea about the UK before we came here. When they started school, and they started interacting with other people, they really liked it. And they asked me, Mum, why didn’t we come here sooner? They are doing quite well in school. Actually, they have settled really well. They do have a lot of friends here, and they speak the language like any other children that were born here.

I started to learn English with a course. I used to go somewhere to learn, and also I had a teacher at home that would teach me English. But when I started volunteering, that’s when I realised that my English was improving.”

Volunteering helped Salma to integrate into the community

“At the beginning, when I was at home doing nothing, I was thinking of a way that I can help others and a way that I can speak to people. I liked the idea of volunteering even back in Sudan, so I always had this passion to help other people. I was quite excited to start volunteering, because when I came here, it was only me and my children and I thought that by volunteering, it will be much easier for me to get to know other people and to integrate into the community.

I volunteered at a cafe where elderly people come to have tea and coffee, and I would serve them tea and coffee, and I would sit with them, speak to them, and listen to their stories. Volunteering made a huge difference to my English, but I couldn’t stay there for long because I found a permanent job.”

Finding a job

“So the job was a kitchen assistant in a school. The group that were helping me, they were the one who found the job. They asked me if I’m interested in such a kind of job, and I said, absolutely yes, and they applied for me, and that’s how I got the job.

I had an interpreter for my job interview. I could understand the language at that point, but it was difficult for me to answer back. They asked me about my background, my education. And also, they asked me some questions about safety and the safety of children. They gave me some scenarios. If this happened, what would you do etc. At the beginning, I was quite anxious, but when they started asking me a question. I felt like I could answer the questions, and I engaged with them.

At the same interview, they offered me the job, but they said I needed to wait for a letter from the government. And I had to wait for two months.

It was my first time working as a professional in a kitchen. It was really difficult to fit work around learning English, looking after my children and everything else, but if you have the willpower, you can do anything.”

“I would like to thank the British government for allowing me the chance to come here, because I have seen how my children improved and how they’re doing in school. I would also like to thank the group that helped me to come here and allowed me to have this job. Thank you very much.”

Find out about Community Sponsorship here.