To celebrate Refugee Week, Wokingham Borough Council is reflecting upon the efforts of its team in welcoming new residents into the area.

Since the pandemic, the borough has taken in hundreds of refugees from countries including Syria, Afghanistan, and Ukraine.

Working alongside the Refugee Support Group, previously known as Reading Refugee Support, and other organisations across the local voluntary sector, the people of Wokingham Borough have:

- Helped five Syrian families start new lives in the borough as part of the Syrian Resettlement Programme.

- Supported three families to settle in the borough as part of the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme, with two of these families already settled and one awaiting housing.

- Taken in nearly 400 refugees to the borough as part of Homes for Ukraine.

 

 The new executive member for diversity, inclusion and fighting poverty, Cllr Rachel Bishop-Firth, said: "

“All refugees have experienced incredible hardship and loss.  Many have come to Wokingham Borough with nothing – but they and their children have gone on to make a huge contribution to life here. 

"This Refugees Week, we want to recognise the contributions of these individuals and also the hard work and generosity of all those who are welcoming new refugees into the Borough.   

“These individuals’ lives and families have been torn apart by war and as a local authority, we have a duty to protect and support them. We aim to do all that we can to ensure those who have been forced to leave their homes are given the best possible start in a new life in Wokingham Borough, working together with our with key partners and the wider community to help them to integrate into life here in the UK.”