Transferrable skills: from science to mentoring and back

On 11th February, it was the International Day of Women and Girls in Science. For this occasion, alumni mentor Nushrat Khan from our 10th Mentoring Programme reflects on the things she’s learned from her scientific journey and her time at Routes. Nushrat is a Senior Research Fellow at UCL, working in the field of global health.

I was born in an underdeveloped country but privileged enough to be from an academic family who instilled in me the love for science from an early age. After I got my scholarship to study for my undergraduate degree in Japan, I was excited to meet more women who are pursuing a degree in science, especially in a scientifically and technologically advanced country like Japan. However, what I found then and throughout my journey afterwards in the USA and UK is that women in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) subjects are always underrepresented, in fact recent statistics show that less than one third women in the UK study STEM. This gap becomes narrower when it comes to women working in scientific research and even narrower for women from minority ethnic backgrounds.

Given the figures above, the question is – how do we motivate and retain women studying and working in science? To successfully navigate the terrain, I have always found it invaluable to work with and learn from a mentor. Whether it is about getting advice on fighting that inner imposter syndrome or learning about how to establish one’s own niche and develop a professional network, a mentor can be a role model and a guide to carry you through. As I am developing myself as a female leader in global health research, I find it equally rewarding to mentor others from similar backgrounds and support them to reach their career ladder.

Working with Routes added to this valuable experience last year where I received training to develop a better understanding of how to support women from diverse backgrounds, how to listen and celebrate small successes.

I would say that my skills from both mentoring and global health work that I used would be better communication. Working with diverse groups of stakeholders and students means that I have to learn how to actively listen and continually improve my communication skills.

My suggestion for women in STEM would be to believe in and celebrate yourself, and also each other. Be kind, courageous and empathetic, and together we can make a difference. If you are a female leader in science, do take up the mentoring opportunity via Routes and be a part of the amazing work they are doing!

Routes to employment: first findings from our research project

Roula Kheder is Routes’ Project Development Manager for our Routes to Employment project, that started in May 2023. With funding from Propel, we were able to carry out research into the barriers and opportunities that are present for women from refugee and asylum-seeking backgrounds in accessing employment in the UK. In this blog, Roula writes about the importance of this topic and shares the first key findings.

Waiting for years to get the result for an asylum claim while having no access to education, support or employment, is creating huge barriers for women to build a meaningful life in the UK. This experience of being out of work often results in a long gap of unemployment on people’s CVs (or LinkedIn!), and might also lead to additional mental health needs due to the lack of access to integration activities. Other barriers women are facing in accessing employment include language issues and lack of practice in professional English, lack of confidence and isolation. All these factors are denying refugees and asylum seeking women the opportunity to swiftly start the new lives they have dreamt of when seeking a safe place to resettle. 

The Routes to Employment project started in May 2023 aiming to gain a better understanding of the unemployment problem for refugee women. For example, previous research has found that women from refugee backgrounds have consistently low levels of labour market participation. By delivering activities and workshops in collaboration with women with lived experience of seeking asylum in the UK, the main goal of our project is to identify the barriers and challenges that women are facing when seeking employment.

Picture: facilitators and participants of a Routes to Employment Problem Tree Analysis workshop.

The project activities included an Employment Assessment Survey which was designed for women with lived experience in seeking asylum to assess their current employment situation.  We surveyed 93 women from 36 different nationalities. In this group, 37.6% of participants are asylum-seekers, whilst 38,7% have refugee status and the last group of participants have other backgrounds of seeking safety in the UK.

Key findings of the survey: 65% of respondents are unemployed. Moreover, of the people who are employed, 75% of the respondents said they are not satisfied with their current job. This is either because they feel they don’t have any other options, or because it is not exactly the job they wanted.

After the initial Employment Assessment Survey, we conducted Problem Tree Analysis Workshops with women from refugee and asylum-seeking backgrounds. The goal of these workshops was to identify the main causes of the unemployment amongst refugee women and collaboratively discussing solutions which will address these causes.

The Problem Tree Workshop findings were incredibly useful in understanding the core of the problem, and bringing depth and nuance to the numbers. It was also helpful in designing our future Routes Employment Programme, which will innovate new routes towards meaningful employment.
- Roula Kheder, Project Development Manager of the Routes’ to Employment

The key focus of the workshops was identifying the causes of the problem, such as the hostile UK asylum system, mental health difficulties, lack of employment skills and employers having no awareness of the asylum system. Most importantly was the cause of Lack of Support where participants identified three main areas of support: inefficient ESOL (provision of English for Speakers of Other Languages), poor support from Job Centres; and lack of childcare. Based on these conversations, we brainstormed solutions with the participants on improving the current situation.

Picture: participants sharing reflections on accessing the UK labour market.

At the moment Routes team is designing a new Employment Programme, which will respond to the identified barriers and which we are very excited about! The programme is being co-designed with stakeholders such as partner organisations, businesses and women with lived experience to shape the best support possible and to ease the access to employment for our programme's participants.

Thoughts, ideas and feedback that will help us shape the Employment Programme are very welcome. If you are interested to learn more about how you can partner and support this programme, we would like to hear from you on roula@routescollective.com  

Wintering: Routes reflection suggestions for films & podcasts

For those of us who have the space to do so, winter is generally a good season for reflections. With that in mind, we wanted to share some suggestions of things to watch, listen to and speak about with others, if you wanted some context to the news.

Films:

• Netflix Movie the Swimmers is the true story of the Mardini sisters from Syria, who make their way to Europe in search of safety. It follows their journey from Syria to Berlin, and finally to Rio, where one of them participates in the Refugee Athletic Team. It’s a story of sisterhood, solidarity and what happens at the borders of Europe.

• Another film about refugee athletes, the the documentary We Dare to Dream follows athletes from different parts of the world as they embark on their athletic careers. Directed by Waad al-Kateab, from the award-winning documentary For Sama. In cinemas now.

• The documentary Gaza documents the lives of citizens in Gaza in 2014 and 2015, and was a participant in the 2019 Sundance Documentary Competition. It was a popular movie on the recent London Palestine Film Festival, and is available here on Amazon Prime.

Podcasts:

• This episode of The Guardian podcast Today in Focus charts the story of Ukrainian writer Victoria Amelina, who turns from novelist into investigating war crimes.

• The podcast On Things We Left Behind by the sisters Surer and Saredo Mohamed explores the hidden afterlives of war.

• The Experts by Experience podcast is hosted by Refugee Action, and its members explore different themes related to seeking asylum and the UK asylum system, including dispersal, statelessness and the impact of the government’s Rwanda policy. They also touch on wider topics, such as Pride Month and a celebration of art in its episode for National Poetry Day.

Using your advocacy power:

• All of us have different levels of power, in different contexts. Some of us might be able to vote in the country that we live in, contribute to a community initiative or share resources online. This winter period, we encourage you to make a list of the different places where you hold power, and how you might want to use that in 2024 to make the UK’s asylum system kinder and more humane - from signing petitions to speaking up in your workplaces.

• Women for Refugee Women is holding a campaign to Welcome Every Woman. Sign their pledge here.

We look forward to working together again in 2024!

A year at Routes

2023 has been a big year for us - both at Routes, and in the news. At the end of this year, we wanted to share some thoughts that we take with us for the final weeks of December - and provide you with some suggestions for reflection, too.

2023 started with a special transition in the Routes team. Daisy, one of our co-founders, stepped down from their day-to-day role. Leyla moved on to being Routes’ Founding Director, whilst Daisy continues to support our work together with the other members from our Non-Executive Board. Meanwhile, we welcomed Hanna to our team as our new Head of Business Development and Partnerships, and Roula as our new Project Development Manager. It has been beautiful to see Routes grow over these last couple of years, from a small start-up dreamed up by its two co-founders into a full-blown social enterprise with a growing team and alumni community.

Routes team members (from left to right): Tamana Safi, Wieke Vink, Roula Kheder, Hanna Kubbutat-Byrne, Leyla McLennan and Board Member and Co-Founder Daisy Jacobs.

The seasons at Routes are marked by the different cohorts of our Mentoring Programme. We run two Mentoring Programmes a year: one starting in Spring, and one starting in autumn. This year, we marked a big milestone, as we completed our 10th Mentoring Programme over summer! We are currently in the midst of our 11th Mentoring Programme, under the leadership of Mentoring Programme Manager Tamana and our Head of Programmes Wieke. Our alumni community is almost 400 people strong and a real testament to what can happen when people come together for shared learning.

Pictures (from left to right): participants at the Routes Public Speaking workshop; Leyla speaking at an event of London Community Foundation; and a screenshot from our Mentoring Programme Training Day.

In June, for Refugee Week, we collaborated with Chief to organise an evening about welcome at work. At this event, Roula presented some of the first findings of our research project ‘Routes to Employment’, for which our first report is expected in early 2024. Meanwhile, we are working on some interesting partnerships for the new year, with a focus on alumni support and accessing education and employment opportunities.

Tamana (left) and Roula (right) working on the Routes to Employment project.

It hasn’t been an easy year in the UK refugee sector. A lot of campaigning and hard work by sector organisations has gone into countering the detrimental effects of the hostile environment. Even just in the last weeks, we’ve seen the government continuing to work on its Rwanda plans (which has been ruled unlawful by the UK Supreme Court) and mourn the deaths of people as a result of the system. At Routes, we’ve signed onto a letter to demand the immediate closure of the barge Bibby Stockholm. We also feel the impact of the housing crisis and the shorter notice for evictions amongst our community.

In the midst of all this, we hold onto the immense power of connections - of different people, across sectors, working towards compassionate leadership, a kinder asylum system and inclusive workplaces as places of change. Our Mentoring Programme is currently open for applications, so if you want to join us in 2024, please do get in touch.

Participants from the 11th Routes Mentoring Programme with facilitator Teri at the Public Speaking workshop.

A big thank you to all our mentors, mentees, community members, workshop facilitators, funders and partner organisations! It’s been such a source of strength and joy to work together in 2023, and we look forward to continuing to do so in the new year. 

Poem from Routes: Ceasefire

From Routes, a poem by Routes’ Head of Programmes Wieke Vink:

Ceasefire

What do we have but our rituals

To anchor us in time and place
To give space to the unspoken
And gestures to community

What do we have but our bodies

To feel more than could be held in one place
To witness what is being broken
To gesture towards all that could be

What do we have but all we got

To hold onto our mourning
To bring together our worries and yearning
To say words we don’t yet know how to speak

And so when human rights come out into the light

When we are asked to think wiser
Hold our politics stronger, and lighter

I hold onto our rituals a little tighter
Hold community a little higher

And ask us all for a ceasefire

We know there's been a huge amount of collective grief and horror in the last few weeks about the events in Palestine, Israel and the surrounding regions. We stand firmly in solidarity with everyone impacted, in particular those experiencing loss and displacement, and support these calls made by Refugee Action.

We stand firmly against Antisemitism, Islamophobia and all forms of discrimination.

‘Emigration is not merely a term; it is a journey’

Fakhria Joya was a mentee on Routes 10th Mentoring Programme. Originally from Afghanistan, she came to the UK in the summer of 2021. In this blog post, she describes her journey and the role that mentoring has played in settling into her new life.

Emigration is not merely a term; it is a journey. It was autumn 2020 when I graduated from high school. My classmates and I were thrilled and determined to continue our preparation for a highly competitive university entrance exam, in order to achieve our goals and succeed in our favourite fields such as medicine, computer science, engineering and so on. We knew that education is the key to unlock the golden door of freedom.

As no one knows what the future holds, we worked very hard, day and night, tirelessly. During my high school years, many explosions occurred in educational institutions in Kabul. A few weeks before the actual exam, it was a quiet Friday. Around a hundred students were sitting the mock exam in a spacious classroom. In the middle of the exam, I heard the loudest sound ever: the sound of a bomb explosion which took the lives of countless innocent students. I was one of the students who survived. 

Time flies by, leaving its shadow behind. Eventually, we took the exam just a week before Kabul was taken over by the Taliban. I had planned to take a deep break from studying, after four years of continuous effort. However, on the 15th of August 2021, my intentions were demolished and everything changed. I realised that the presence of tanks and Taliban soldiers in Kabul affected nearly everything. For me, as someone who had not previously experienced such chaos, the silence of my father, my mother's fear, and my older sister's anxiety were responses to all my questions. A couple of days later, we left Afghanistan, as did many other fellow citizens.

Fakhria Joya, a mentee on the 10th Routes Mentoring Programme.

Leaving my country was an unbelievable and heart-breaking situation for me. I left everything behind, including my parents. Upon arriving in the UK, we were all uncertain about what lay ahead. Adapting to a different environment, language, and living in a hotel for a year was extremely challenging. Over these past two years, I have navigated very difficult circumstances, particularly on the education side. For me, as an Afghan girl, gaining knowledge and receiving an education is the most valuable thing in my life. Proficiency in English is key to entering university. Unfortunately, I didn't have the chance to learn English in my home country. Yet, in the UK, despite enduring mental health challenges due to immigration, I worked diligently to learn English and made it a top priority.

‘‘I am hugely determined to continue my education and go to university in the UK.’’ 

I am grateful to all the people who have supported me through this unexpected journey of my life. Compared to my fellow girls within the country, it feels like I am one of the luckiest. I have my freedom and some extraordinary people in the UK who have consistently supported me. For instance, the Routes mentoring programme has played a significant role in my life. I have gained so much from it.

Engaging in sessions with my mentor provided me with peace of mind, the opportunity to discuss my anxiety, fears, and goals. Indeed, it gave me a sense of look community and camaraderie, similar to what I experienced with my friends back in my home country.

I would like to express immense gratitude to Routes for their exceptional and beneficial programme, which offers significant support to refugee women. It has been an honour for me to be a part of the Mentoring Programme. I highly recommend the programme to anyone who wants to learn how they can get started with their new lives in the UK.

Celebrating our 10th mentoring cohort: lessons learned and bonds formed

This summer, the 10th cohort of the Routes Mentoring Programme completed their participation on our flagship mentoring programme: a 4 months mentoring programme, where professional women leaders from across sectors are paired with women from refugee backgrounds. In this blog, Routes’ Mentoring Programme Manager Tamana Safi shares some of the highlights from our 10th Mentoring Programme. It’s an edited extract from her speech, that she gave at our recent Celebration event.

Routes 10th mentoring cohort started in the month of April - a time filled with lots of festival celebrations, such as Ramadan, Passover, Easter, and even the King’s Coronation. This cohort was so special, as were all the festivals - and the start of the mentoring journey for the Routes mentees and mentors.

The journey of forming bonds started with mentors completing the two day training sessions with Routes and mentees coming over to the Routes office for collecting their Welcome Pack and attending the Mentee Launch. We at Routes enjoyed watching the pairs building their relationship with each other; saying ‘Hello!’ for the first time to each other over an email or Zoom or WhatsApp and sharing smiles in person.

Screenshot from our online Celebration event with mentors and mentees of the 10th Routes Mentoring Programme.

The highlights from the pair's meeting notes were so beautiful. Routes felt brighter - like the pairs did - after reading and hearing about their meeting highlights, learning and growth.

We heard from our pairs about wonderful moments in their mentoring meetings: learning about the motherland of the Beatles, sharing the meaning of your name and what it means to you, sharing the value of this Programme and what it means to you, sharing the excitement of saying ‘hello’ to a stranger and the way it made you feel seen by others.

We learned about people’s dedication to educate themselves. and how pairs talked about new concepts such as ‘talk the talk, walk the walk’. Some pairs celebrated their birthdays, someone was featured in a movie, some danced, and some prepared presentations together. The focus on learning, celebrating small successes and bonding relationships was really impressive.

Mentors had further training opportunities, and mentees joined us for workshops on topics such as public speaking, online communication and self-advocacy. A big shout out to the wonderful facilitators that we get to work with at Routes, and that share their skills and expertise so generously with our participants!

Some memories from our 10th Mentoring Programme (from left to right): Public Speaking workshop for mentees, Routes Head of Programmes Wieke with Routes Mentoring Programme Manager Tamana getting ready for some speeches, and a group photo from our August Garden Social.

This is indeed not the end but hopefully the beginning of new chapters in our participants’ lives. The knowledge, guidance, and support shared between the pairs have left a beautiful mark on their growth. Cherish the memories, the lessons learned, and the bonds formed. Continue to embrace challenges, seek wisdom, and pass on your knowledge to others. 

As our pairs part ways, we hope that they'll carry a piece of each other in their hearts. Celebrate the progress you’ve made and take pride in the impact you’ve had on one another. Routes will be here to cheer you on!

Our pairs are now officially Routes mentoring alumni, and we are delighted to welcome them to our alumni community! As a valued member of our alumni network, they join a diverse group of individuals who have benefited from our Mentoring Programme and are making a positive impact in their respective fields.  

Dear 10th cohort, we are wishing you all success, fulfilment, and joy in all your future endeavours. Cherish the lessons learned and the bonds formed. May yours and our paths cross again in the future! 

Mentors and mentees of the 10th Routes Mentoring cohort at the Garden Social in August 2023.

We are so proud to have supported 10 mentoring cohorts so far, and are looking forward to welcoming our 11th this autumn. Please continue to read our blog and LinkedIn for updates about our upcoming programmes. And if you’d like to sign up to join us as a mentor or mentee, the next round of recruitment will open in December.

Statement on the passing of Anti Refugee Law

On the 11th July, the UK Parliament debated the Illegation Migration Bill, which ended with the passing of the Bill for royal ascent. Please see below a statement written by Routes Founding Director Leyla McLennan:

You may have seen the news that the Refugee Ban Bill will now become law, despite the fact that it breaches the Refugee Convention. We are deeply saddened by this news.

Seeking asylum is a human right, but the UK has now effectively extinguished this through passing this Bill; anyone arriving ‘irregularly’ to claim asylum will be banned from doing so. There are almost no safe routes into the UK so this will affect the majority of refugees that need protection.

We stand in solidarity with everyone who this bill unfairly punishes, and all the organisations and individuals who have tried their best to stop this from happening. 

This is a dark moment in the UK’s history, but we will continue to fight to create a compassionate and humane welcome for all those seeking safety. We hope you will join us!

If like us, you have been feeling disheartened by this news, watch this video for a message of hope from Freedom From Torture. 

This fight needs as much support as it can get; now that the Illegal Migration Act has become another one of the UK’s #AntiRefugeeLaws, it’s more improtant than ever to fight for a just, compassionate asylum system and commit to repealing these harmful laws.

Join us and sign the pledge today: fighttheantirefugeelaws.org

Welcome at work: what you and your organisation can do to support welcome in the workplace

On 28th June 2023, Routes organised an event exploring the role of workplaces in creating compassionate welcome for those seeking safety in the UK. Meeting at the leadership organisation Chief in Central London, we heard from a brilliant panel of speakers about the opportunities and barriers to meaningful employment for people with a refugee background.

In this blog, Routes’ Head of Programmes Wieke shares the event’s key takeaways and what you and your organisation can do to support meaningful employment for refugees and asylum-seekers.

‘What is the role of workplaces to create welcome for people seeking safety?’ was organised to mark World Refugee Day. It was in line with UK’s Refugee Week’s theme of Compassion Into Action. Chaired by Routes’ Co-Founder and Board Member Daisy Jacobs, the audience heard from a strong set of speakers: Anuradha Chugh (CEO of Pukka Herbs), Harbi Jama (Head of Development at the London Community Foundation), Yusuf Ciftci (Founding Director of Experts by Experience Employment Initiative), and Roula Kheder Alsheikh (Project Development Manager for the ‘Routes to Employment’ project at Routes). People from across sectors - charity, leadership and finance, amongst others - had an opportunity to learn about inclusive employment in the UK, and what can be done to create compassionate welcome in the world of work.

The meaning of work

The evening was kicked off by Leyla McLennan and Tamana Safi from Routes, providing a brief outline of the rights of people seeking safety. Importantly, not everyone who is in the UK from a displacement background has the right to work. Refugees and individuals coming through resettlement schemes (such as the ones set up in the aftermath of the evacuation in Afghanistan, and for the conflict in Ukraine) do. Asylum-seekers generally don’t - unless they have applied for the right to work. This is something you can only do once you have been in the country for over 1 year, and you can only work in jobs on the so-called Shortage Occupation List. This situation is different from that in other European countries or the US.

This part of the conversation comes back multiple times during the event. As Harbi Jama mentions: ‘Why is it here in the UK, that we have so many people waiting? That should make us angry. Because it is about dignity,  it is about fairness.’ Host Daisy Jacobs chips in: ‘We know that work is so important for people’s confidence, their mental health, their aspirations. And we know we have a system that can grind people down so intensely. Organisations should start with thinking really creatively - what are you doing in terms of opening up your doors?’

Routes panel (from left to right): chair Daisy Jacobs, Anuradha Chugh, Harbi Jama, Roula Kheder and Yusuf Ciftci.

From recruitment to onboarding

Once people have received their refugee status, the barriers to accessing meaningful employment are different. Yusuf Cifti started his own organisation to support people with lived experience into charity sector leadership. He shares: ‘First and foremost, we see a lot of focus on work experience in job vacancies. Maybe refugees have waited 5 years for their decision. There’s then a gap - how are they going to compete? If you focus on work experience and disregard people’s talents from their home countries, you won’t be able to give them a chance. The focus should be on potential: can you support them?’ 

Roula Kheder agrees: ‘We need support, we need training and we need to be onboarded properly in the work environment that we are working in.’

One-size-fits-whom?

Yusuf Ciftci shares a few practical things organisations can do at the recruitment stage, to be accessible for people with experience of seeking safety. ‘Currently, there is a lot of focus on a one-size-fit-all recruitment process. If you know how to write a CV and a cover letter, you can get a job. But I know many talented refugees, who might not perform well in the interview, but would be great at the job.’ He argues that there is a lot of work to be done in this area. ‘There’s so many small initiatives for people, to learn more about what it is like to be working. There’s been 3 inclusive recruitment toolkits just in the last year (including this resource by Yusuf's Experts by Experience Employment Initiative, ed.) so the knowledge is there.’

The impact of the asylum system is still felt after people have received their status, panellists agree. Yusuf Ciftci: ‘There’s a lack of confidence on people, because of the asylum system.’

Part of this, is also about creating more awareness and meaningful support for people when they want to access the jobs market. Anuradha Chugh - who currently sits on the board of Routes - speaks about her experience mentoring with Routes, while she was Managing Director at Ben & Jerry’s. ‘For me, Routes does that in a very meaningful and deep way. Routes gets you to send your employees (to participate in the Mentoring Programme, ed.), to really deeply connect with people (...) as equal(s).’

In her contribution, Roula Kheder also speaks about awareness at the stage of recruitment: ‘If there isn’t this awareness, employers might lose talent and we can really contribute. So we should be welcomed, really!’

Finally, there’s the issue of being out of work for a while, or ending up working in a different field than before. Yusuf argues that this is something that is really important for employers to be mindful of. ‘For a lot of refugees, their first job (in the UK, ed.) is trying to test their careers. So giving them a bit of space to explore themselves is really key.’

Routes’ Project Development Manager Roula, who is doing research for the new ‘Routes to Employment’ project.

Creating equitable workspaces

Harbi Jama speaks with clarity about inclusive employment practices: ‘What are employers doing to keep refugees? The first thing I ask, what are you doing to keep your current staff? You need that first, before looking at hiring refugees. You can’t hire refugees if you are not treating any of your staff well.’ He continues: ‘You need to make sure that you can support people, that you can identify any challenges and there are people who you can speak to. You need to be able to close the pay gap.’ 

Interestingly, some of the recent digital developments can be useful to welcome people from displaced backgrounds into work. Yusuf Cifcti argues that good use of remote working policies can be helpful.
‘For example, When you have Christmas or Eid, people might not have family here. So can you allow refugees to work from abroad, so they can spend time with their families.’

Harbi Jama adds another point that is crucial to keep in mind. ‘One thing that is super important in these conversations - we don’t know who a refugee is, until the person discloses it to you. The same thing with LGBT - you don’t know until they share. Some people will work in a workspace for 20 years - and then, when they have a safe space and the topic of refugeehood comes up, they turn around and share some of their personal experiences. Which is really beautiful, and it shows the importance of creating safe working environments, in which people feel they can share these bits of information.’

The importance of partnerships

A lot of this is about changing the conversation. As one of the audience members remarked, ‘There is a lot of work about D&I in corporates, but we never really talk about refugees.’ Harbi Jama mentions the fundraising space, and HR, as other areas that would benefit from having people with lived experience, who are able to challenge ideas and bring new ones.

Volunteering opportunities and corporate social responsibility should also be meaningful, and conversations with partners should be tailored towards that. As Harbi Jama says: ‘20 businesses doing CV workshops with refugees - it’s not useful. The people who have access to support from refugee organisations: they have already done their CV, got cover letter support.’ He instead argues for more funding for organisations doing this type of work. ‘Charities and CIC need donations to work and support and thrive.’ 

Routes panellist Harbi Jama, who is working at the London Community Foundation.

Harbi is clear that a core part of this work is commitment. ‘You need to really have that embedded into your organisation. You can’t just pick and choose when you want to support refugees. What we need to do is making sure that businesses are doing this work proactively. Businesses who are doing it well, are doing it well for a long time. And there are those that are learning, and starting.’

Anuradha Chugh agrees: ‘The hard work has to be done in the organisation before. First, within the company, you need to really get the mindset, the policies, and equity across people in the right place. Only after that can you get into advocacy. And once you do, use whatever platform you have, whatever agency you have - give it space. It doesn’t have to be a big billion campaign to be able to do that.’

Key takeaways from the panel on creating welcome in the workplace

• Yusuf: ‘The evidence is there. A lot of initiatives are creating equitable services. So it is now all about action.’

• Roula: ‘Do not stereotype refugees. Don’t put people in boxes. Don’t put expectations for them - they might surprise you!’

• Harbi: ‘Celebrate the amazing people - lots of people that have contributed so much to the UK. (...) And if you want to create opportunities, make sure they are meaningful.’ 

• Anuradha: ‘Each of us have agency. Talk to your father, your kids, your company - whatever it is. Don’t leave it for an event. Literally, do it next week - today is Thursday, so you have time!’ 

What can you do next?

• If you are a woman with lived experience of the UK asylum system, Routes is currently doing some research as part of our new project Routes to Employment. You can participate by filling out the form here.

• Support the Lift the Ban-campaign to give people seeking asylum the right to work. More information can be found on the website of Refugee Action.

• If you are interested in mentoring with Routes and embarking on a four-month, engaging learning journey with a woman from a refugee background, applications are open now for our autumn Programme.

• If you are or know of any socially-minded businesses, prioritising inclusive leadership, we would love to hear from you! Our work is done by partnerships and referrals, and you can connect with hanna@routescollective.com to chat more.

• Lastly, Routes has an Access Fund to cover the cost of travel expenses and data costs for refugee and asylum seeking women on our Mentoring Programme. You can donate here.

‘The human side of leadership’ - reflections from mentor Dee

Deepali (Dee) Desphande is Product Manager at Investec, and joined our 9th Mentoring cohort as a mentor. She was paired with mentee Mafusi, for 4 months of mentoring from October 2022 to February 2023. Find her reflections on Routes’ mentoring, and the lessons she learned from it, below.

" Hope is the thing with feathers-

That perches in the Soul -

And sings the tunes without the words -

And never stops - at all- "

- Emily Dickinson

It all started with an initiative on our work intranet, mentioning the Routes Mentoring Programme. This initiative caught my eye, because The Routes programme resonated with the purpose and values that are important to me at work. As I looked into the details I was intrigued and also slightly overwhelmed to find out the cause of the initiative: working with women who have experience of displacement.

I decided to apply and see where it took me. I felt like I was not fully prepared for what I was taking on. AlI I had was determination to try and make a difference to someone’s life, and learn something valuable myself as I went on this journey.

I myself have had quite a varied career so far. I started off as a Graphic Designer and Content Developer. Now I work at Investec and I have also recently started some coaching training. I was hoping that some of my experience might be relevant to someone else exploring their options, and I was really interested to learn more about Routes’ approach to mentoring. I was delighted when I got an email saying I was selected for the programme and I was found a match.

We had our first training session for mentors and I was blown away. Routes made the content empathetic and broke it down, so that we understood our responsibilities and boundaries. I loved the structure of the programme, because it touched upon a lot of practical side of things and gave us a lot of pointers on how to handle difficult situations. The training equipped me to go in with eyes wide open and some knowledge about the difficult systems mentees have to negotiate.

While I was very excited to meet my mentee Mafusi, I was a bag of nerves. I prepared for my first session like a diligent student. However, in my first session I realised that this session was going to be very different from the mentoring sessions I have had in the corporate world. I kept my notes aside and Mafusi and I set off on a journey.

This journey led us to become confidants. I was humbled with the amount of trust Mafusi put in me during these sessions, by sharing her life experiences.  I felt privileged to be a part of this process that we both trusted and the safe space we created for each other. We soon found things to talk about, that brought joyful memories back for Mafusi.

Mafusi wanted to work on her personal leadership, and next steps. We found creative ways to work on that. For example, one of the goals we carved out was for Mafusi to write a recipe from back home. The recipe is more than measurements and ingredients. It’s a part of Mafusi’s heritage, her culture and her family. It has history associated to food and where it comes from. Mafusi took time to put a lot of details in the recipe and it was a proud moment for both of us. It was a tangible output of our discussions and she proudly held it with a smile. 

From thereon, our relationship flourished. We set up further goals and identified small steps to tackle them. We met some challenges along the way, but we never lost our nerve or hope. I had excellent support from Routes when I was worried, which made me feel better and keep calm. Routes are very well equipped to handle challenging situations and find ways to support both mentors and mentees.

I am very proud of what Mafusi has achieved and how much I have learnt about myself through these past few weeks. I have been in leadership roles and have been quite mindful of the human side of the leadership. These sessions and training and Routes gave me another dimension to mentoring and leadership. Now if there is a problem; I try to understand the root of the problem rather than fixing the symptom. I have since incorporated some of the learnings to understand the team members better which helped create a cohesive work environment.

Another major learning was about experiences of people seeking safety in the UK. My time with Routes provided me with a perspective on how things are organised, and what that means for people’s lives.

The learnings I have had in the past four months will stay with me and have reinforced my desire to become Life Coach. I would like to work with women to build their confidence - be it in corporate space, coming back to work or just finding the spark they have lost. Every woman is confident and capable of achieving great things. Sometimes all we need is a little help to tap into our potential. If I can be that person and make even 1% difference to people’s lives, it will be rewarding.

There is a quote from a poem by Emily Dickinson that I really like. It talks about ‘Hope being the thing with feathers’. I hope I can provide a bit of that for someone in conversation. Mentoring and coaching can be so powerful for that.

Some news from Routes

Written by Routes Co-Founder Daisy Jacobs, 20th March 2023

Dear friends and supporters of Routes. I'm writing today to share some big news, which is that I will be stepping down from my day to day role at Routes on 19th April 2023. 

This has been such a hard decision to make, but I have decided that now is the right time for me to make this change. I am so incredibly proud of our work at Routes, and of everything that we have built with our inspiring, committed and visionary team and board over the last five years. I am also very grateful to have had their full support in navigating this time of transition. Whilst I will be stepping down from my day to day role, I am so excited to be continuing to support and champion our work as a member of the board.

Photo above of the Routes team and board at our end of year celebration meal 2022

As well as being a Routes board member, my next steps will involve taking some time to rest, before embarking on a Churchill travel fellowship later this year (you can read more about that here!). At Routes, I'm delighted that Leyla will be stepping into the role of Founding Director, to continue leading the organisation towards our mission, and our formidable programmes team will keep delivering high quality, impactful programmes for the women we work with. We are also very excited to be welcoming a new Head of Business Development and Partnerships into the team very soon - watch this space for more on that!

As we mark Routes' fifth birthday, I feel very sad to be taking a step back from the direct delivery of the work we do, but equally so energised to know that there are people in the organisation who will keep driving us towards our mission. At a time when the day to day reality of the hostile asylum system is getting increasingly harsh, compassion, care and intentionality are more needed than ever. I know that our team will continue to create the impact we want to see, with joy and deep thought, and I am so proud to be staying on the board to continue to support our impact.

Photo above from our first in person event after the pandemic: 'Routes: From Screen to Stage'

Some words from the board 

"We as Routes board members, want to thank Daisy for their immeasurable contribution to our organisation and community since its inception five years ago. It has been a privilege to witness their enthusiasm, compassion and skill. Daisy has been fundamental in developing innovative, uplifting and person-centred programmes for women with experience of seeking safety in the UK, and has driven our collective strategy and mission. The passion and ability to foster meaningful connection that is at the core of all Daisy’s work, is what makes Routes such an extraordinary organisation. We unanimously support Daisy’s decision to step down from their role as Executive Director, and are delighted that we will continue to benefit from their insight on the board in future. We wish Daisy every success in their next endeavours."

Some words from Leyla

“Routes has come a long way since we started in 2018, and it wouldn't have been possible to get to where we are now without Daisy. I'm so grateful for the collaboration, friendship and impact that has come out of working together, and so proud of what we have achieved in these past five years. I fully support Daisy's decision to step back, and I’m also excited to continue our working with them on the board of Routes.

I’m energised and excited to continue Routes' mission alongside our wonderful team. Routes will continue to fight for a UK where every woman who has sought asylum can build a fulfilling life. We know we want to support even more women over the next five years, and continue to do so with individualised and joyful support. The recent proposed changes to the asylum process will make life even more difficult for those seeking safety, but we will continue to innovate in the face of an ever-changing and increasingly hostile system.”

Photo above from our sixth mentoring programme celebration with mentors and mentees during the pandemic

Staying in touch

I will continue to be reachable on my Routes email address until 19th April, after which point I encourage you to reach out to Leyla, or another member of our team. Please also connect with me on LinkedIn if you'd like to stay in touch, and make sure to follow Routes on social media (LinkedIn / Twitter / Instagram) to stay up to date with our work!

Finally, I'd like to say thank you so much to everyone that I have had the privilege to work with and learn from in my day-to-day role over the last five years: from the 300+ mentors and mentees I have had the pleasure to meet and support, the 70+ organisations that have put their faith in our programmes, the inspiring facilitators and creatives who have shaped our work, and the countless coaches, champions and friendly faces that have supported both my personal growth and the growth of Routes since 2018. I hope you will continue to support and celebrate our work in the years to come, as I will. I truly can't wait to see how Routes continues to grow and flourish over the coming years, and am honoured to be staying a part of it.

With gratitude,

Daisy

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'I have always wanted to be an architect' - Linda's Mentoring Journey

This blog post was written by mentee Linda, who graduated from the Routes Mentoring Programme in February 2023, after four months of mentoring with her mentor. Find out more about the programme by reading the blog post below and exploring our website!

My name is Linda.

I have heard about Routes Mentoring Programme through Say It Loud Club, a kind charity which helps refugees and asylum seekers in need. I joined the programme because I wanted to be part of something beautiful and amazing. It proved me right.

From the time I remember, I have always wanted to be an architect. I have always been attracted to art, design, and drawing. I arrived in the UK in 2010 and got my bachelor’s degree in 2014 in Business of Arts. At the time, I did not have the opportunity to study design. From 2015 to 2021, life was tough because of personal issues. Until I got introduced to Routes in 2022, I was mentally low.

Before joining the programme, I had not had a mentor before. As a result, I was very much excited, apprehensive (a bit nervous too) the first time we met. It was via Zoom, and all went wonderfully well. How would it not be? My mentor Alexandra is an architect. A very nice person.

Alexandra shared with me so many things. I have enjoyed the online free drawing lessons offered at Artyfactory.com. I have learned some technique skills required to draw which I had not a clue on how to start initially. We also discussed master classes architects such as Giancarlo De Carlo and Frank Gehry whose works are total wonder. I have come to realise, architecture is not only a structural edifice of buildings, but something deeper as it affects society on a high level. Architecture brings happiness into people’s life.

My mentor Alexandra also encouraged me to apply for a bursary in Design subject in a London University, which I happily did. Hopefully I will get my portfolio ready in time for the interview which again, I hope, will be successful. 

The Routes Mentoring Programme has been a wonderful experience which I will forever be grateful for because it gives me the opportunity to meet kind-hearted people, people who bring light into people’s life, people I knew not existed in today’s world. Before Routes, I would not have dreamt of getting close to my dream job. Now however, I am filled with hope, optimism, and confidence in reaching my goal one day. I will not finish without mentioning Routes’ educational programmes which have been so helpful in building up my confidence.

To Routes mentoring programme, I just want to say thank you.

'Foggy Mornings' - A poem

Starting with our fifth cohort back in 2021, our Head of Programmes Wieke has written poems to celebrate the end of the journeys of each graduating cohort of mentors and mentees.

In ‘Foggy Mornings’, written for our ninth cohort, she reflects on the languages of mentoring, and the web of support that our mentors, mentees, team and partners are a part of, both during and after their time with us.

You can watch and hear Wieke performing the poem in the video, or read the words below. We hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

Foggy mornings

Celebrating Our 9th Cohort, February 2023

It’s been winter in London

So we’ve seen foggy mornings

Their miracles and stillness

With weather changing from north to west

Some already up, others still at rest

All of you sharing some of your best

In four months of mentoring

And so this is a time for gathering

As we are meeting here

To mark the end of your mentoring

And the start of spring

With daffodils popping up in the parks

This is a poem for celebration

It’s a poem for you all

As we come together

Last week online – or today in East London

For Bethnal Green is the place of Routes

The place where we put our roots

After the pandemic

And where we welcomed all of you in

With a Tech Day to begin

With a Mentee Launch and Mentor Training

And off you went, into your buddies and pairs

With so many dreams

– some new,

and some ready to repair

For the fog is also there

Helping us

To envision what may lay behind its drops

That which we cannot yet see

We know it’s there

It’s possibility

Things from before

Or new mysteries

To connect, or re-connect with

New routes

Waiting for us

As you’ve opened doors

Into new parts of your goals

Into new parts of your learning

As you spent your time -

Looking at courses

Gearing back into engineering

Finding ways to combine work with care

Or combine them into social work or healthcare

Thinking about law or psychology

Getting back into art

Combining mentoring with college

Or looking after little ones – or both

And so

After lots of time to deliberate

Today it’s time to celebrate

Your journey of connectivity

In your pairs, 1:1

With exercises, brave sharing, and fun

In the moments across 4 months’ time

With the rest of this group, with MP9

With public speaking in the Anson Room

Blog writing for lunchtime

Online communication online

Taking it Forwards on a Thursday

And in collaboration with us, the team at Routes

In worksheets and over WhatsApp

With Tamana Jan always being there

Reading your messages with so much care

Providing travel top ups

For an in -person chance

To look at your plans

And with that

We keep in mind

The things we cannot control

Within the means of this mentoring

The structures and systems

Adding additional stressors

And so we bring

Presence

Shared thinking

And practical help

Monthly updates and the Workspace

Linking to our Resources Database

Filled with opportunities, organisations

And things to talk through

Including some suggested by you

As together, you grew and grew

So congratulations to all of you

As your talents shone through

Each of you bringing different strengths to the mix

As we know there is no easy fix

But lots and lots of great things to work on

And while the clocks might be set on Greenwich

There’s many ways to write an alphabet

As you found your own ways of working

With your partner, with your cohort and with Routes

With all of you becoming

Both students

And ambassadors

of mentoring

Of relationship-based learning

Of step-by-step success

Some picking up a book to share

Others catching a nice podcast mid-air

Or thinking through a tree of life

And

Facilitators sharing their wisdom in workshops

With multilingualism being your superpower

As we hold so many languages amongst ourselves

Some of you doing meetings in your fourth language

Speaking up and listening

With all parts of our brains

And if we trace

The sounds of our speech

Across the globe

We know we hold so much of the world

In our words

And so

On behalf of Routes

I’d like to say a muchas gracias and shukran kteer

In all the languages that you hold dear

Thank you for your trust

And for being here

And when the future seems unclear

Let’s remember

We can embrace those sounds and our shared interests

Across industries and regional dialects

And the strengths of our vocabs

Like the spider’s web

We are creating here today in this room

The threads

Fragile but steadfast

It’s beauty visible

In the foggy mornings

And when systems are trying to keep us disconnected

Let’s keep clarity of vision

Let’s aspire to become architects

And design new ways of being

For when we look in the mirror now

When we catch our reflection

When we catch our breath

As we walk down the streets

And see ourselves reflected back

In a shop’s window

The face of your workplace

Or in a waterdrop

We see a connected community

We see what belonging can be

A group of people

Holding the threads of that web

Looking inwards

Stretching out

Celebrating London from north to south

Building bridges of kindness

Being willing to act

And also taking time to reflect

And so we know

For your next steps

Beauty awaits

Big and small

As it has been created by you all

Written and performed by Wieke Vink, Head of Programmes, Routes

Reverse Mentoring with UBS

Reflections on the pilot of the Routes Reverse Mentoring Programme, from Co-Founder Daisy Jacobs.

It is an early September evening and the dark is settling in earlier than it has for the past few months. As it does, a dozen people gather in the Broadgate offices of UBS, dressed ready for a celebration. As more people arrive and drinks and food are laid out, the chatter turns from nervous to excited, slowly bubbling until it fills the room. For many here tonight, this is the first time they are meeting face to face, after three months of online relationship building, digging deep into each other's values, goals and interests, and working to see things from the other's perspective. 

This is the celebration event for the first cohort of Routes' 'Reverse Mentoring Programme', in partnership with UBS.

(Pictured above, Routes Co-Founders Daisy and Leyla speaking to Routes Mentors and UBS Mentees at the start of the Celebration Event.)

As the sun was going down outside and we enjoyed the delicious spread put on by UBS, we listened to heartwarming reflections, and inspiring stories of new relationships built. We heard about pairs connecting through each other's commitment to lifelong learning and growth, and celebrating each other's humility and empathy. Pairs reflected that their self-awareness had grown, both in areas of strengths and weaknesses, but also in an understanding of their values and beliefs. Though mentors and mentees on the programme have hugely different life experiences, we heard pairs reflect on feeling seen and understood by their partners, and that they had connected through shared values and experiences, understanding the many similarities between them, as well as the differences. 

Everyone in the room could see that they had brought something to their partner, and that they had been changed and challenged by them too. A few of the pairs have already committed to staying in touch, and continuing their mentoring outside of the programme… and as big believers in the power of relationships to create long lasting change, this feels like a huge success for us!

The Context

Since 2018, we have been running mentoring programmes with mutual impact. We have supported over 120 women mentees from refugee and asylum seeking backgrounds to grow towards their personal and professional goals, with the support of more than 120 professional women mentors from more than 50 different organisations. The impact is two fold: mentees are supported and championed to grow in confidence and reach their goals, whilst their mentors are supported and championed to develop an empowering and impactful set of leadership skills, with the support of the Routes team and in partnership with their mentee. Year on year we have seen the mutual impact that these relationships have, and we wondered whether we could take that impact even further… Which is why we launched our first Reverse Mentoring Programme.

This programme was an opportunity for alumni mentees of our flagship programme (women from refugee and asylum seeking backgrounds who have previously worked towards their goals with the support of a Routes mentor) to develop their professional leadership skills, by becoming a mentor to a senior leader from UBS. Their mentees, UBS Managing Directors,  would be mentored across five 1-hour sessions, supporting them to reflect on their own leadership style, connect to their values, and become more inclusive and compassionate leaders. 

(Pictured, right, Routes Mentors’ reflections on ‘what is a mentor’)

Our mentors attended two training sessions with Routes, where we covered the role of a mentor; coaching and mentoring techniques and activities; how to plan and deliver a professional meeting or workshop; telling your professional story and much more. 

Meanwhile, mentees joined us for a launch event, where we talked through the role of a mentor and a mentee; an overview of the UK asylum system and its impact on individuals moving through it; and goal setting for the programme.

Our pairs then went on to have five hours of online meetings together, getting to know one another, exploring their values and how these shape their understanding of leadership, picking apart their ideas and experiences of 'welcome', and more besides. And finally, we gathered together to celebrate their successes, hear about the relationships built, and witness the small but meaningful shifts in each of them.

(Pictured above, Routes Mentor shares some words about her experience)

At the end of the event, the Routes team shared our hopes for the future of this group - how we hoped that the energy, knowledge and awareness each of the participants developed through the programme continues long beyond the celebration event. We hope that each mentee is able to tell colleagues and friends about their experiences and the things they learned, and to make tangible changes in the areas of their personal and professional lives in which they hold power. And we hope that our mentors are able to keep growing, with a deeper understanding of themselves as leaders and changemakers, and with bigger personal and professional toolkits and networks to see them into their next steps.

(Pictured above, Routes Mentors and some of the Routes Team)

What Next

As an organisation, we deliver programmes that are experiential, prioritising 'learning through doing' and valuing relationship building above all else. We are committed to creating experiences that enable people to learn and grow together. We are also committed to interrogating and challenging the hierarchies that prevent some people from holding power, and that perpetuate unequal and oppressive relationships. These power dynamics are everywhere, in workplaces, in educational institutions, and especially in the asylum system. 

We have seen time and again how much can be achieved when these hierarchies are challenged, and people are given the opportunity to build relationships as equals. We have watched people learn about themselves through learning about another person - a person that they trust, respect and admire, and who trusts, respects and admires them too. These relationships can be transformative, both for the individuals at the heart of them, and also for everyone around them. 

If you'd like to join us in our mission of building more transformative relationships through mutually beneficial mentoring experiences, we'd love to hear from you. Reach out to us below.

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'Caring for a cohort' - a poem for our 8th cohort

We celebrated the end of our 8th cohort’s mentoring journeys at the end of August, bringing together mentors and mentees in person (and online, for those who couldn’t join us!) to reflect, share and celebrate their mentoring. Routes Mentoring Programme Manager, Wieke Vink, wrote and shared this poem for the cohort, to mark the end of their journeys…

Caring for a cohort

In this Anson room that speaks of old knowledge

With books holding stories of previous times

And rain finally - suddenly dropping on the roof

We gather here today to celebrate

The new steps that you took together

The stories that you told each other

The moments that you shared

As you have been collecting and compiling your knowledge

From across your fields of expertise

And all your experiences

As women, as leaders, as learners

As mentors and mentees

Sharing it in blogs and workshops and your CVs

Some of you have been drawing

All of you have been exploring

Stepping into the new

Working on learning that might be relevant to you

You’ve been building on -

The power of conversation

The power of listening

The power of clarity and repeated attention

That what is needed to make something grow

Like a plant climbing up the window sill

Finding its way to the sky, and the sun

In a room coming out of a pandemic

We’ve seen you share and feed into blooming conversations

As we’ve been working as a team

To provide the right types of nourishment and support

And it hasn’t been an easy time

With headlines and heatwaves putting pressure

In a system that gets harsher and harsher

Where we try to keep up

Try to keep our heads up

Keep lifting each other up

And are committed to staying connected

For we know

From those connections flow

The strengths of a cohort

The joys and the successes

There are now new courses on the horizon

New connections across your networks

New reflections on taking it forwards

And yet the biggest achievement of all is care

Care is not a soft skill

It is the hardwire of our societies

It is what holds us together

It is what builds bridges

What brings new policies, new possibilities into this world

So when we look back -

As we’ve been caring for this cohort

And seen all the care that you shared

We can feel nothing but proud

As we have seen you struggle and doubt

Learn and reflect

Connect

Thinking about

What you can do

What she can do

What we can do together

And as we leave tonight from this place

Where we’ve met new and familiar faces

Let’s take this into other spaces

This care and shared knowledge

From this group of women

From across London

From across the UK

Who want you to succeed

In your dreams and your daily lives

In your teams and your communities

In your aspirations and scholarship applications

In your strengths and public speaking

As we are speaking to you all today

Please join me in saying a big ‘HOORAY’

For the impact that you made, is here to stay 

And to continue, and to be built on

by Wieke Vink, Mentoring Programme Manager

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Niki and Lily's Mentoring Journey

Niki and Lily were paired on our April to August 2022 Mentoring Programme. They worked together across four months, each learning and growing towards their own goals. In this blog, both mentor and mentee reflect on their journeys…

“Niki is one of the most brilliant, resilient and inspiring women I have ever met. She is also one of the most joyful women I have ever met, and I couldn’t help but learn from her as we uncovered and worked towards her goals during our journey together.”

— Lily, Mentor

Lily, Mentor

One of the joys of the Routes programme has been getting to know a diverse group of women who share a common set of goals: to embrace community, to lift one another up and to leave no-one behind. As leaders, it is our job to create safe workplaces and to nurture our teams. However, I am all too aware that, as women, too many of us have had at least one example of hostility that has bled into our understanding of ourselves, the world, and how we navigate the workplace. Early into the training element of the Routes programme, I experienced the ways in which the team has carefully and intentionally cultivated a supportive, encouraging and strength-building environment that challenges the norms that hostile experiences might’ve created, and how they are empowering cohorts of women to do the same. Routes has empowered us not only to transform the workplace but all of the spaces that we inhabit.

Photo above: some of the mentors on Lily’s cohort at their Meet & Greet with Mentor Programme Alumni

Exploring Routes with Niki has been a beautiful experience. Niki is one of the most brilliant, resilient and inspiring women I have ever met. She is also one of the most joyful women I have ever met, and I couldn’t help but learn from her as we uncovered and worked towards her goals during our journey together. Whilst the programme gave me the tools to create a safe space for Niki to grow, she created one for me. As I transitioned into a new career and quietly managed multiple and daunting changes in my own life, Niki unknowingly taught me how to be a better leader, and how to prioritise myself whilst being the best I can be for those around me. The Routes programme is a leadership and mentoring programme like no other and, for me, the proudest moment has been the powerful bond that Niki and I built. I look forward to seeing where our bond takes us!

Niki, Mentee

When I started the Routes programme, I was depressed, but meeting everyone on the programme was so inspiring. Everyone was always positive and had such great energy! I learned from them how great it is to be positive, to be helpful and to be there for people who are in need. This programme really helped me to push myself and my confidence is higher than it ever has been! I am proud of all that I have achieved and I am proud of my ability to always find a way to smile.

Lily always has positive energy! Even when she’s tired, she is always shining. She inspires me, tells me that I’m the best and encourages me to be my best. It’s really important because Lily’s positive energy after our sessions always stays with me and encourages me to believe in myself and all that I can achieve.

In our final session, we spoke about what our journey has meant to each other. We both said – wholeheartedly – “she makes me feel like I can be me!” We allowed ourselves to be vulnerable and that has helped us both to grow as individuals and to become more confident. My advice to future mentees is to be yourself, and to be open. You really can trust your mentor and feel confident and calm with them. Have fun!

Photo above: Mentors and mentees from Niki and Lily’s cohort at their End of Programme Celebration

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‘A better and happier version of myself’

— Ishmatu’s mentoring journey

Ishmatu and Ellie were paired as Mentor and Mentee on our April - August 2022 cohort. Together they worked on Ishmatu’s goals. In this piece, Ishmatu speaks about her growth in confidence.

My name is Ishmatu, I am a mother with a two year old son. My son has mild speech delay. Being an asylum seeker, sometimes I lost hope and my confidence was gone. I felt tired and depressed, because I never imagined how life would be so difficult for me, especially in a country where I don't know any family. I suffered from this mood for quite a long time until I was introduced to "Magpie". There at last l met a family - they are very nice people and patient as well. I enjoyed spending most of my time there with my son, because I always felt welcome. 

One day, one of the Magpie team sent an application link to the group, and that’s how I came to know about the Routes Mentoring Programme. I decided to apply.  I was very happy, because I know my dreams will come true - I can start working on my dreams. 

I joined the mentoring programme and I met my mentor, who’s name is Ellie. When I met Ellie, we introduced ourselves, and I told her I want to improve my English and writing, and work on building my self-confidence. Ellie told me that my English is good and that we can work on my confidence, by practising together at least once every week. Ellie is pregnant, but yet it makes no difference: her energy is there for me throughout. I appreciate that a lot!

Ellie asked me a lot of questions, so I can talk and build my confidence. She also shared affirmations that I can use, just to help me prepare for my day. It helps me to think and plan how my day will look like. I feel better and a bit more confident every week. Together with Ellie, we are also working on some of my goals for the future. I told Ellie I was a nurse back in my country, and I want to continue with my career in the UK as well. We explored the options for that. My mentor has been really active and encouraged me to apply for a bursary, because she knows how determined I am to start a nursing career in the UK.

I want to say thank you to Ellie for mentoring me throughout the programme, I achieved a lot! And a special thanks goes to the Routes mentoring programme, which has given me the opportunity to grow into a better and happier version of myself.

Written by Ishmatu, August 2022

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‘Sharing a learning experience together’

— Ellie’s Mentoring Experience

Ellie and Ishmatu were paired as Mentor and Mentee on our April - August 2022 cohort. Ellie works as Senior Campaigns Manager at Nesta (‘the UK's innovation agency for social good’). In the piece below, she shares her thoughts on mentoring, and how to support someone else to find their confidence.

I was really keen to get involved in the Routes programme because I’ve been volunteering with refugee and women’s rights groups for a long time. I was chair of Wandsworth Welcomes Refugees when I lived in London, but moved back to my hometown on the south coast during the pandemic. After moving I hadn’t had a chance to get back into volunteering yet, so when I saw this opportunity promoted through my employer I thought it looked like a great way to meet someone new and share a learning experience together. 

Before I met Ishmatu, I felt apprehensive about my role and whether I would be helpful enough. I don’t have any experience of nursing (Ishmatu’s field of work, ed.), teaching or coaching and I wasn’t sure if I was ‘qualified’ enough to be a mentor. I was wondering if I would be able to support her in the ways that she’d need and expect. My fears quickly disappeared once we met - we immediately got on and found we were able to connect and relate to each other through everything we have in common, even though we only met online. I quickly realised that I didn’t need any specific qualifications and that I had plenty of privileges - things like English being my first language and having experience in applying for courses and jobs in the UK - that meant I could be helpful and offer useful support. I found that helping Ishmatu to think and talk about what she wants to achieve, why, and how she might realise her goals, really helped her to recognise how far she has come and how strong and resilient she is.

For me, the most enjoyable part of our journey together has been getting to know Ishmatu, because her energy and determination are so inspiring. A particular highlight of our sessions has been when we’ve talked about Ishmatu’s personal values and strengths, which have helped Ishmatu to reconnect with the confidence within her, rather than seeking it from somewhere outside. It has been hugely positive and rewarding to be part of that process. 

As a woman, a mother and a nurse, Ishmatu is incredibly caring and I found that she was supporting me as much as I supported her, especially in periods of my pregnancy when I was really struggling physically. It has been a joy to speak to Ishmatu each week and I know that she will achieve her dreams here in the UK. I feel excited for her future!

Written by Ellie Cusack, August 2022

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Motherhood and mentoring: Migerjana & Tiffany

Migerjana & Tiffany were paired as Mentor and Mentee on our April - August 2022 cohort. In this blog, they explain why being a mother won’t hinder your ability to join the Routes Mentoring Programme. And Migerjana shares her top tips on how to juggle motherhood and being a mentee.

This piece has been written by Migerjana and Tiffany (photographed) as part of their mentoring journey.

Like other young mums, Migerjana first heard about the Routes Mentoring Programme through the Happy Baby community, a charity that helps women who are pregnant or have young children and who have fled their country to seek international support in the UK. She has been volunteering her time at the charity every Wednesday for the past 10 months.

What has Migerjana’s journey been in the UK so far?

Migerjana moved to the UK to seek asylum when she was 5 months pregnant with her daughter. She then spent several months in a hotel in London with other pregnant women, also asylum seekers. Shortly after giving birth, she moved into a house share, where she’s been living since.

She joined the Routes Collectives mentoring Programme in April, when her daughter was 11 months old.

“At the beginning, I was sceptical and I wasn’t sure if I should join the programme because of my little daughter. I wasn’t sure if I would be able to commit to the whole programme and when I could fit in all of the sessions with my mentor. But now that I am part of the programme, I believe that it was a great decision to make! I’m really grateful and thankful that I enrolled in this programme. I’m building self confidence and I am feeling hopeful that I can provide a great future for my daughter and I. There is a long journey ahead of us but this programme has enabled me to believe in myself again!”- Migerjana.

Other mentees such as Martha said that the programme felt like a “wake up call” reminding her that “she has a purpose’’, and Zhaneta who was expecting a child in 2020 said that she felt “more peaceful” thanks to the programme.

How do busy mums like Migerjana manage to participate in the programme?

As you will have seen in other blogs on the Routes website, both the mentors and mentee undergo training and they meet up for 10 sessions either face-to-face or remotely over the course of the 4 months programme. This may sound like a lot of time for mothers who do not have childcare in place. Migerjana was delighted when her roommate volunteered to look after her daughter for both training days. She and Tiffany agreed to schedule all of their weekly meetings remotely during her daughter’s naps, which enabled Migerjana to concentrate on her objectives and have a bit of the ‘me time’ that mums sometimes crave! Obviously there were days when her daughter wasn’t sleeping and it was fine – either they would do a short session, or play a bit with the little one. 

For Tiffany, who is also a mum, it was very important that Migerjana felt comfortable. She knows too well how stressful it can be when trying to multitask with a toddler or baby!

What is Migerjana’s objective?

During the first few sessions, Tiffany and Migerjana discussed Migerjana’s current situation and her medium to long-term objectives. In the asylum system, it can take years for people to get a work permit. Migerjana has applied for one, but has yet to receive an answer. Thus they decided to concentrate on finding a short-term online course that could help Migerjana find suitable employment once she is granted a work permit. 

As a young mum, it is important for Migerjana to do a self-paced online course. This means that she can study whenever she can in the comfort of her home. 

As of today, her plan is to do a short online course to acquire business skills with a local college, then if she likes this field of work, undertake a longer course in the autumn. 

How are courses funded?

There are numerous funding opportunities available. On this occasion, Tiffany and Migerjana have been focusing on two funding opportunities:

1. The bursary scheme from the City & Guild Foundation that provides support of up to £10,000; and

2. Funding at a local college for asylum seekers who enrol in a university degree. 

Hopefully, they’ll be able to secure funding so that Migerjana can start a course soon!

Migerjana’s top 5 tips on how to juggle motherhood and the mentoring programme:

1. Agree on a day when you are both available.

   “I have therapy on Tuesday and I volunteer at the Happy Baby community on Wednesdays. The rest of the week I am out and about with my daughter. So Tiffany and I decided that Fridays during my child’s nap was a good time to have online hour-long sessions.”

2. It’s ok not to be ok!

   “We’ve both had to cancel sessions at the last minute because either of our babies was unwell. It happens and it’s fine!”

3. Mentors are called ‘champions’

   “This means that they do not always have an answer to our questions, but they always strive to find ways to help with suggestions and by bringing a different perspective.” 

4. Don’t hesitate to challenge yourself and join the programme!

   “Ever since Tiffany and I met (online), I have felt like I’ve known her for a long time. Every session with my mentor brings me closer to my goals. I feel more positive and hopeful for the future!”

5. Being a mum is not a barrier, it is a superpower!

   “I really want my daughter to have the best possible opportunities in life. That is a very powerful incentive and it makes me work extra hard!”

What is it like to be a mentor? 

Below is a short testimony from Tiffany, who’s child is 2-and-a-half years old.

“Being a mentor is a human adventure before anything else. Whilst it provides mentors with greater listening skills, a better understanding of the asylum system in the UK and numerous tools to help a mentee achieve their objectives, it really is the bond that you develop with your mentee that matters the most. In her blog, another mentee called Xiaojuan describes really well this feeling of connection between a mentor and a mentee.

“Being a mother is a permanent juggling act and it is easy to understand why ‘it takes a village to raise a child’! Getting to know Migerjana and her daughter got me thinking about my own experience of bringing my son up. The mother-daughter bond that they have is truly exceptional and I feel very inspired by the community that they have created for themselves with other mothers and children in the asylum system and beyond. I believe that it shows that motherhood has no cultural, religious or ethnic boundaries. 

“Being Migerjana’s mentor has been a privilege. I’m in awe of her resilience and her ability to adapt. She is an incredibly talented young woman who completed a masters degree in political science in her country and is raising a child by herself in a foreign country. Yet she has very little self confidence and the feeling of starting from scratch in an environment where your degrees are not recognised can be a daunting prospect. I am delighted to be helping her achieve her objectives!”

Written by Migerjana and Tiffany, August 2022

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Elif & Raperin, Mentor & Mentee 2022

Elif & Raperin were paired as Mentor and Mentee on our April - August 2022 cohort. Together they worked on Raperin’s goals, both learning and growing through the process. In these two short pieces, Elif & Raperin reflect on their journeys and what they have learnt from each other along the way.

“…we have a lot in common, as women we are going through very similar challenges in this male-dominated capitalist world, and we can challenge perspectives collectively by supporting each other…”

— Elif, mentor

Mentor, Elif

I joined the Routes Mentoring Programme to improve and practise my mentoring skills and to support another woman who we might share common challenges in a new country. 

I would like to say, the programme was designed by the Routes team very professionally from training to delivery. Even if you do not have any mentoring experience before, but you have a passion for it, the programme prepares you for the mentoring process very smoothly with trainings and individual support when needed. I believe skills we have gained during the programme are very crucial both for your personal and professional development. So, if anyone would like to try mentoring and not sure where to start, Routes Mentoring Programme provides a safe space for you to learn and grow.

Becoming a mentor of the Routes Mentoring Programme has been the most rewarding thing I have done in the last year. It was a pure joy to meet with Raperin and be able to accompany her in her journey. Raperin is a very strong woman with a lot of passion and resilience. She wants to understand the non-profit sector in the UK and continue developing a career here as she has a lot of work experience already.

Her struggles of trying to pursue a career in a new country reminded me of my own struggles when first I moved to the UK. After our long conversations I discovered that we have a lot in common, as women we are going through very similar challenges in this male-dominated capitalist world, and we can challenge perspectives collectively by supporting each other.

We have structured our meetings according to Raperin’ s goals and needs but we never missed any chance to get to know each other better and have fun together during the process. Being a part of Raperin’ s journey inspired me a lot and gave me a chance to reflect on my own journey as well. Raperin is a true source of inspiration not only for her daughters but also for the women in her community. 

“She never missed a chance saying how much she is learning from me like I learn from her, she is very much like a kind, smart and caring friend. ”

— Raperin, mentee

Mentee, Raperin

I was referred by a colleague to Routes being a newcomer to the UK. I was not sure how beneficial this would be for me but was open to try. The introduction meeting motivated me as the general friendly atmosphere was really present and encouraging. My goal from this program was to get to know the work system in the UK, diminish my fears, and restore my confidence.

In the first meeting with my mentor I was expecting a question-answer atmosphere, but no it was a simple meeting just getting to know each other. I must be honest I was not convinced that this could lead to somewhere, but because I’m not the kind of person who would pull back from a commitment I just decided to continue. THANKFULLY, I made just the right decision as later after meeting once every week, we started to really know each other, we discussed our deep concerns and thoughts, we laughed, we met in person and it became my favorite hour of the week.

Elif was genuinely involved in our conversations and discussions, she was honest and kind, and she shared her experiences and thoughts just like I did. She never missed a chance saying how much she is learning from me like I learn from her, she is very much like a kind, smart and caring friend.

She helped to understand the work system in the UK, the knowledge and experience she shared made me look into things from a totally different angle. We defined together our strengths and weaknesses on both professional and personal level, I discovered skills that I would never believe I have.

Now that the programme has just reached the end I have a much clearer vision of how to reach my goal with no fears, more confidence and a trustworthy, out of the blue friend who I can always seek advice from.

Written and published August 2022

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