Whites help out asylum charity cause.

This week we had a visit to the football club from Ben Falp, a social worker who is helping out children fleeing war torn countries who are looking to explore their love of the game, with any help they can get. They have come here with basically nothing and now there is a scheme in place to help these kids not only get involved in football but also in a social capacity, coming into new surroundings.

Ben said ‘I am a Social Work Assistant with the Canterbury Children in Care team and I work almost exclusively with Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Young People who live independently in the community. Nearly all of these young people have had to leave their homes and families and undertake incredibly difficult and often traumatic journeys to seek a better life in the United Kingdom. They have often had to do this to escape war or persecution and, as such, have arrived in the U.K. without any belongings other than the clothes they are wearing.

We see this as an opportunity for these Young People to make new friends, give them a sense of belonging and help them feel a part of the local community – Ben Falp

My colleague, Jeffrey Reene, who is an Education Support Officer with Virtual Schools Kent and I, have started offering football training for the Young People we work with. I am a qualified FA coach and have been involved in Grass Roots football for many years and our aim is to eventually have a team entered into a league in the local area. However, this ambition of ours is not the only reason we are offering training. We see this as an opportunity for these Young People to make new friends, give them a sense of belonging and help them feel a part of the local community; all things they may struggle with due to their personal circumstances. It is also an opportunity to give these Young People something to do in their free time, some much needed exercise to benefit both their physical and mental health and an opportunity to practice speaking English (as nearly all these Young People are currently studying English as a second language).’

The club donated left over kit from past seasons including shorts, socks and training wear.

Pleasure to help out.