Story: John Mellor
Volunteers in Burngreave come from all around the world, as I discovered when I talked recently to some of the 40 people who work voluntarily at Rainbow’s End charity shop at Sorby House.
Sue originally comes from London. She did factory work for a few years and then spent time bringing up her family of six. She has worked in two charity shops in Hillsborough but started working at Rainbow’s End with the help of her NOMAD support worker.
Sue says,
“This is the best shop I’ve worked in. I was feeling really down but working here has helped to build up my confidence.”
Margaret has always lived in Sheffield and spent most of her working life as a retail assistant, with a short spell in the steel industry. She walked into the shop one day to have a look around and was asked,
“Would you like a cup of coffee – and would you like to work here?”
She finds it is the sort of work she really enjoys, especially when she sees friends coming into the shop.
Abu had to leave Liberia in 2004, having witnessed the murder of his father. He worked as a driver, transporting food supplies to UN refugee camps. His employer arranged a visa for him to travel to London (via Guinea and Beijing) where he applied for asylum. He came to Sheffield in 2005 and has been on English and Computer Studies courses at the Vestry Hall. He is still not allowed to undertake paid employment but works two days a week at Rainbow’s End. Ekhlas comes from Sudan. After secondary education in Khartoum (she speaks English, French and Arabic), she studied Agricultural Science at Medeni University and then had jobs in banking and insurance.
She joined her husband in the UK in 2006 when he was studying for an M.A. in Manchester. He is now doing research in Microbiology at Hallam University. Ekhlas, who has been on courses in Computer Studies, English and Administration at the Ellesmere Centre and Burngreave Vestry Hall, is currently looking for paid employment with the help of Burngreave Opportunities.
If you are interested in volunteering, contact Yvonne Hayes on 07954 149 297
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