Herts Welcomes Refugees provides a range of assistance and support to refugees and asylum seekers across the county of Hertfordshire to complement that provided by local councils and the Refugee Council’s Hertfordshire Resettlement Project but also to help those refugees and asylum seekers who are completely isolated.

The COSARAF Foundation grant supports HWR’s Arabic school that was started as a response to local Syrian families requests.  These families wanted their children to learn Arabic (their mother tongue) and the school would also be an opportunity to support the Syrian ladies in the local community to start a career as teachers and to be more confident to run their own business in the future.

As a result of the funding from COSARAF, we have been able to meet the needs of the parents and children in helping the children to learn Arabic. The Syrian families have found it very difficult having to leave their homes in such terrible circumstances. Through this school, the parents feel the children are more connected to their culture and tradition and by learning Arabic, even in these early stages, they have the opportunity to talk to their relatives in Syria and to be proud of learning their mother tongue language.
Irene Austin - Chair
Herts Welcomes Refugees

‘I really want to learn Arabic because it’s my language.  I want to learn the Arabic Alphabet and the school is amazing because it helps me and helps my siblings a lot.   I have learnt a lot of things at the school and all the teachers are really nice friendly and help me when I get stuck.  I give this school a five star rating’  – Mohammed 7 years old.