Refugee and asylum-seeking mums and their young children have been hit hard by the coronavirus lockdown measures. These families were very often isolated and struggling to rebuild their lives before the pandemic, but now these challenges are intensified.  

The very limited support that mums are eligible for barely stretches to cover basic essentials like food and cleaning products, let alone to purchase educational materials and activities to keep their children occupied and learning during lockdown. School closures have made it difficult for mums to continue their children’s education when English may not be their first language and they may not have access to the internet and digital equipment where resources are available. 

We were therefore delighted when one of our amazing supporters, Anna Bowles, reached out to us with her idea of sending refugee children books during the lockdown.

Anna says, 

“I’ve been a supporter of Women for Refugee Women for some time, and when the lockdown started I immediately thought of how especially hard it would be on mothers stuck in cramped accommodation with barely enough resources even under normal circumstances. I work as a freelance book editor, and HarperCollins were kind enough to provide me with some free copies of The World of David Walliams (the kind of book where children do puzzles, answer quizzes and draw their own pictures). Apparently Poundland is an ‘essential retailer’ so in the first week of the lockdown I was able to go in there and buy pens, stickers and buttons too. 

I hoped the packages would help show refugee families that they haven’t been forgotten during the crisis, and bring a smile to the kids’ faces as well as giving Mum an hour’s peace!”  

One mum who is a single parent with two primary school kids, and hasn’t been out of the flat with them since the start of the lockdown as she is vulnerable, said: 

“I struggle to find things for the boys to do. It was a treat for them to get these, especially as one of them loves David Walliams’ books. He is missing the school library. It made the time pass well for him.” 

Another refugee mum was delighted that the books arrived just in time for her son’s birthday:

“The books arrived at just the right time – on the morning of my son’s birthday! He was so excited to have something to open and it really put a smile on him! There were also stickers and pens in the package and he has had so much fun playing with them and drawing.” 

 And another mum shared her gratitude at getting a moment to herself while her son was enjoying his books:

“My son was so happy to get the books. He is somebody who really loves books. His favourite thing is to spend time reading, and it gives me a little bit of ‘me’ time when he’s doing this! Thank you so much for remembering us, this really was so thoughtful and we both feel so grateful.” 

Thank you so much to Anna and HarperCollins for bringing so much joy to these mums and their young children.

If you would like to support refugee and asylum-seeking women during this difficult time, please consider supporting our current appeal.