Gaining confidence as a migrant in the UK, thanks to Routes
The UK is a beautiful country with lovely places to visit. It’s full of life, full of light, full of love, full of good and bad people. Full of good opportunities. Full of beautiful things like nice cars, clean buses, good roads, lovely buildings, great schools, and a big, amazing shopping centre.
You might not know all these things if you haven't had the opportunity to discover them - I was able to because I met Routes. There are lots of charities like them, but Routes helped me find something that was missing. If I am confident today, and it’s because they helped me build myself up. They got me a mentor.
My first mentor was very understanding, collaborative and patient. And I was lucky enough to have a second mentor afterwards. She was as friendly and important as my first.
During my mentoring programme, I was able to travel around central London by train. I got lost finding my way, I cried when I was running late, but in the end all those things gave me wealth. Because eventually, I learned how to get the train, and I learned not to panic. I learned to ask for help whenever I got lost. It’s difficult to explore when you’re worrying about travel money - but Routes gave me the confidence to try without fear by helping with train tickets (whether I got lost or not)!
(Above: Suzane and her mentor, Eszter at their End of Programme Celebration, 2019)
My mentor was there to help me find myself and to help me speak out. She encouraged me by giving me magazines like Vogue and Magnify. Their words were inspirational, powerful and elegant. And Vanity Fair showed me designer things like Prada handbags and Chanel jumpsuits for romantic nights out. Reading magazines helped me to read and write about what I found interesting. This was an amazing way to find out the things I loved. We did things like ice-skating, movies, dinner, walking around central London, to museums and more. All these things helped me because I'm a migrant and I had no experience of traveling, so I had the fear of meeting or talking to people. I thank God because now I feel confident.
My second mentor helped me to have the confidence to use a computer, with no panic of damaging it. She was so patient, and very good at explaining things to me. This was during the lockdown period, where we couldn't meet each other; but she managed to explain how to use a keyboard, how to install WhatsApp, Zoom and more. I also had the privilege to have a laptop and an internet dongle from Routes.
(Above: mentors and mentees at the End of Programme Celebration, 2020)
Routes is a beautiful charity with lots of different things to do. On Thursday’s we also have workshops over Zoom called Unlocking Joy. We have activities like yoga which helps me relax and think about myself, and creative writing and poetry which helps me think about my feelings. I wrote a poem called Dulwich Park, which I love so much. I love it because it was one of the first things I wrote, and whenever I read it, I feel like I’m back in that park and it makes me so happy. The staff at Routes are so understanding and friendly, and I am grateful to have them in my life because they’re helping me go through my hard time, and to achieve my goals in the UK. I just want to use this opportunity to say thank you to Routes. I feel special and grateful to have Routes in my journey of life here in London. Really, thank you.
Written by Suzane, with the support of Emily Howard.
