One of POP’s members Aslan (an inter-church discipleship group of Persian Christians) recently spent their 250 a POP grant taking a group of asylum seekers on a community camping trip over to the lovely Maker Camp at Rame. The two-night minibreak provided the group of ten women and men with some much-needed light relief and fun away from the many challenges and concerns they face each day. As Louise Anderson from the Farsi-speaking community says the trip was a great success;
“It was such a joy to watch everyone relaxing, laughing and having fun together. I think for several of them it was like the sun bursting through the clouds after a long season of stormy weather.”
Without the funding there is no way, says Louise that anyone could have paid for the trip themselves. The funding from POP turned it from a dream to reality;
“Asylum seekers are on a very basic budget and there really isn’t room to put money aside for an event like this. So, the grant made all the difference to us being able to go ahead with this trip.”
The £250 a POP fund is open to members. Membership of POP is free-of-charge. For more information visit www.plymouthoctopus.org
