Women for Refugee Women are extremely proud to announce that Agnes Tanoh, our Spokesperson Facilitator, and Loraine Masiya Mponela, one of our trustees, have both won a Visa Everywhere Pioneer 20 award. 

The award spotlights trailblazing refugee women who excel in their respective fields and have a meaningful impact in their communities – and Agnes and Loraine certainly do!

Agnes 

In her home country of Cote d’Ivorie, Agnes was a high-ranking member of a political party, and personal assistant to the First Lady – a career which she loved and excelled at. But when civil war broke out in 2010, she had to flee to save her life. 

Agnes waited 7 long years in the asylum system in the UK before receiving her refugee status, which included 3 months in immigration detention and experiencing homelessness.

Despite all that she has been through, Agnes channels her experiences into a positive force – to make change for other women like her. Agnes says, ‘No-one chooses to be an asylum-seeker. I never thought it would happen to me. I suffered so much for no reason. I won’t let any other women suffer like me.’ 

Agnes now wears many hats. She is Spokesperson Facilitator at Women for Refugee Women in which she supports a group of refugee and asylum-seeking women to develop their knowledge and skills on how to speak out, advocate, and campaign for change. She volunteers at Women With Hope in Birmingham, a charity supporting destitute refugee and asylum-seeking women, and supports individual women through the gruelling asylum process. Agnes also campaigns tirelessly against the hostile asylum process and is a passionate and inspiring campaigner, regularly speaking at protests, to the local and national media, and to parliamentarians. She also started her own petition against Derwentside, the main detention centre for women in the UK, in County Durham, which now has over 17,000 signatures. Agnes has become a real pillar of her community and is often affectionately referred to as ‘Mama Agnes’.

Agnes said:

“I would like to express all my gratitude to Pioneer 20. Their awards recognise the value, the potential, the aptitudes that people seeking asylum have. It gives meaning to our existence in this country where the environment is increasingly hostile to those seeking safety, protection, security or simply a better life.

I also want to say thank you to all the organizations who believed in me while I was seeking asylum, these are organisations like Hope Project, Women With Hope, and Baobab, who I volunteered for during my long wait for my refugee status, to give back to other people like me who are in the process of waiting for their status.

I am particularly proud  of Women For Refugee Women, who believed in me and my abilities as a campaigner. I can speak for my sisters, and inform the public about the harsh reality for people seeking asylum.

To the government, I want to say: We have skills, give us the opportunity to use them. We have a heart to give our love, our compassion and our support to all the people in our community.”

Loraine 

Loraine, originally from Malawi, was studying in the UK at the University of Leeds, alongside working as a primary school teacher, when a change in her circumstances meant she had to claim asylum in the UK.

Whilst waiting for her refugee status, which took several years, Loraine was not allowed to work, study, or access any mainstream welfare support. She existed on just over £5 per day for food, toiletries, clothing, travel, and other needs.

Despite the difficulties that she has been through, Loraine has achieved, and continues to achieve so much as an inspiring leader, campaigner, and published poet!

Loraine balances many roles and responsibilities. Loraine has been a trustee at Women for Refugee Women since 2020, bringing her wealth of knowledge and her experience of claiming asylum in the UK to the Board. Previously, she was the Chair of the grassroots organisation, CARAG, which is based in Coventry and supports individuals who are subjected to hostile immigration policies in the UK. Loraine is also a founding member and one of the spokespeople for the Status Now 4 All network, which campaigns for undocumented migrants and migrants in the UK to be granted leave to remain. Loraine now works as a Network Community Worker at Migrant Voice. Alongside her campaigning, Loraine writes poetry about the hostile environment, which has been published in several anthologies. 

Loraine said:

“I am very excited and happy and full of gratitude to Visa and We Are The City for giving me and people like me who have felt voiceless the opportunity; the chance to voice our personal journeys and share it with the world at large. I am truly humbled.”

Our Director, Alphonsine Kabagabo, said:

I am delighted that my colleague Agnes and one of our trustees Loraine have been nominated to receive the Visa Everywhere Pioneer 20 award.  Agnes and Loraine truly deserved the recognition, despite facing a lot of challenges  in their journey to seek protection in UK, they have remained positive and have made a huge and meaningful impact in their new communities. They are both, without a doubt, great roles models for many other women going through the same challenges, and I am so proud to work alongside and know them both!

A huge congratulations to both incredible women. Their hard work, passion, resilience, and activism is an inspiration to us all!