Ruth with Caritas Shrewsbury

I started volunteering for Caritas Shrewsbury’s The Well Project 7 months ago.

I volunteer weekly at the Women’s Group which provides a welcoming space for refugees and people seeking asylum to come together for English conversation and a range of activities, such as craft, sewing, knitting, cooking and exercise, as well as providing information and orientation for life in the UK.

Volunteering with Caritas Shrewsbury’s Well Project has been a really positive experience for me – the opportunity to connect over shared interests and activities, to have everyday conversations and enjoy each other’s company, seem like small but significant acts of normality in the unpredictable and stressful situations that many refugees and people seeking asylum are dealing with. 

Our sessions are busy and fun; skills, experiences, words, traditions, and beliefs are shared, and we all learn from each other. I know so much more about the countries and cultures of the women who attend the group now, along with some great kitchen hacks! I would like to feel that we are helping to make good Manchester memories for the new lives that the women and their families are building here.

I enjoy being part of the Caritas Team at The Well Project, the other volunteers are amazing; so dedicated, friendly, and supportive of each other. The Caritas worker who manages the sessions is excellent – she makes sure that the voices of the women are heard, and she is enthusiastic and encouraging of the volunteer team. 

When I retired, I was keen to do some volunteering in my local community. I am very glad to have found a role with Caritas, I feel that I have the opportunity to put my faith into action at The Well Project; the principles of social justice and Christian love are alive and well in what we are doing and that is important to me.