At the end of March, RuthRose Asrat joined the MDF team as our new project worker. Rose will be strengthening our partner network by developing relationships with and between our referral partners. Most importantly, her role will help us embed lived experience in all strands of our work - from the operation of the fund to our vision of a society without destitution. Rose will be working with people who have lived through destitution, supporting people to speak out and ensuring that their voices are heard to advocate together for an end to destitution.
Rose writes:
"My name is Rose, and I am really excited to start working as the new MDF project worker.
I am from Eritrea. I started my migration journey 2016, I been to different country throughout the years, and have volunteered to support other refugees along the way. Finally, I came to the UK in 2021. I lived in Liverpool for almost 2 years before being moved to Manchester by the Home Office. A friend from Liverpool recommended Rainbow Haven and I started to attend volunteering and activities. I learned a lot from the Computer Club, basic computer skills that I improved through practice on my own.
I worked as a volunteer in Rainbow Haven from June 2023, working with other refugees and asylum seekers. At first, I was on reception, and I learned about customer service, interpretation, rules, policies, and a bit of teamwork. I began taking an advice course, which was nine weeks long, and I learned a lot from it. After completing the course, I started volunteering with the Advice Team to gain more experience. Every week I get different new cases and try to help solve them with the help of the advice team. I also registered for an interpreter course with WEA.
In 2024 I was granted refugee status, so I was allowed to work in the UK. I applied for the Activities Support Worker placement job in Rainbow Haven. The role was door opening for me – I learned a lot of key professional skills such as using Excel and Word documents, organizing files, setting boundaries, knowing the priority of interacting with teachers or students, how to stay calm and prioritise on a stressful or busy day, and little bit of project managing.
In June we had a project called A Sense Of Flora. In this project I was involved from start to finish, I learned project development, planning and recruitment. I also assisted in the artwork - art is my passion, I studied Art in college, and I used these creative skills to make all the leaflets promoting the sessions.
In some of the sessions I was doing multiple jobs at once like interpreting, talking to the guests, teaching them some English, giving out bus passes. From these sessions I learned how to multitask, where before I would have been overwhelmed. I have learned so many life skills from all the team at Rainbow Haven, who have encouraged me without judging me. When I ask questions, everybody listens and answers and gives me advice or help. I promoted different activities and recruited clients by sharing my story of how I got this job. I empowered and encouraged people to learn more overall and improve their English. I wouldn't even have dreamed of working in this kind of job before, but now I am dreaming more, and I keep learning as much as can. Overall, it has been a wonderful experience, I am grateful for everything I learnt from the work at Rainbow Haven.
Currently I have just started to work at Macc as the Migrant Destitution Fund’s new Project Worker. With my long years of voluntary and lived experiences, I am ready to bring change and grow personally and professionally. I am excited about supporting MDF’s partner network to grow and develop, and I am really looking forward to building trust and supporting people experiencing destitution to share their stories, and advocate for change."