Monday, April 18, 2011
STAR student profile: Claudia Coussins
For one student STAR has been a great chance to get out and work with the local community. Could STAR help you break out of the student bubble and get some great real-world experience?
Claudia Coussins is in her final year at Liverpool University and is studying classics and Spanish. She’s been involved with STAR for three years, so we asked her to give us the inside story of her time with the organistion.
What attracted you to STAR – why did you think it was important to get involved?
I definitely wanted to do some kind of volunteering because I had done some at home in London. STAR seemed like the best opportunity to get involved with the local community. I think that’s one of the most important things – that I was involved in the Liverpool community, not just with students.
Liverpool STAR just organised a series of arts fundraisers. Were you involved in organizing the fundraising? How did it go?
It was really good. We had a few different events. The warehouse party was great in terms of fundraising but not necessarily good for raising awareness. We also had an event in the bombed-out church which was the opposite. It wasn’t really good for fundraising but really good for raising awareness. But it would have been just as good for fundraising had it not rained.
It was really good because we got to display some of the art the women’s group had done with SOLA Arts, who are a community arts project, and we had some poetry reading and bands. It was nice because it was a mixture of STAR volunteers, people from the general public and a lot of the asylum seekers and refugees as well. We are planning to run both these events again in the summer term.
We also had film showings (Pushing the Elephant and Moving to Mars), talks and discussions with a case worker from Asylum Link, which raised a lot of awareness. We helped organise The Circle of Silence with the local charity Faiths4change – this is a silent protest to campaign for human rights for asylum seekers and refugees and will be happening once a month. Students, people from different charities and the local communities put in a huge effort to make all these events happen. It was a real team effort. On balance it was a huge success and we are looking forward to more events dedicated to fundraising and raising awareness.
Could you tell me more about this women’s group?
It started three years ago. It’s a weekly group that’s an informal, safe and fun space for women and children refugees and asylum seekers. The women who come can often feel isolated and marginalised and it’s an opportunity to meet people in a similar situation and make friends. We have specific activities that we run as well – sewing and knitting with materials so the women can make bags and clothes, things like that. We also have a gardening project where we started a vegetable patch. We run day trips, do arts projects (organised by SOLA arts), and the charity Food Cycle have recently started cooking meals for us, which are extremely popular.
Because it’s been Easter holidays we’ve had loads more kids than normal the last couple of weeks, so we’ve had activities for the children. It’s mainly student volunteers so we can’t give important legal advice or anything like that but we do refer people on to other places that might be useful, such as Asylum Link Merseyside. We couldn’t run the group without the help and support of the Chester-based charity Healthy Inclusion.
The group has continued to grow especially since we’ve moved to a bigger venue — the Kensington Methodist Church. We now have 27 regular members (plus children!)
Do you think it’s made an impact?
It’s hard to say exactly because it’s not like a converstaion club where the role are clearly defined but I think that’s what makes it nice, because it is just informal. It’s relaxed but that’s why it works. The women keep coming back to it must be having a positive impact!
So the women really enjoy it?
Yes! And the children as well.
What’s been the highlight of your time working with STAR?
I think meeting people from very different backgrounds, learning about different experiences and contributing to making some kind of difference to the future. I’ve met people who I would never have met had I not been doing the volunteering work and seen how hard it can be for refugees and asylum seekers in the UK. And hopefully, I’ve contributed to making life a tiny, weenie bit easier.
Would you recommend students just starting out at uni to think about getting involved with STAR?
It compliments uni life. University academic life can be quite stressful and busy, but although you’re doing more with STAR, it doesn’t feel like you’re doing more. It does seem very worthwhile and you learn a lot from it. I think it’s very good for you as well as the cause you’re helping with.
Posted by Communications on 18/04/2011 at 10:03 AM
in Group News
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