Help me run ½ marathon for refugee charity, Oasis

Hey, I’m Abbie and I am running the Cardiff Half Marathon tomorrow for a charity very close to my heart, Oasis.

Oasis aims to help refugees and asylum seekers integrate within their local community.

They provide support for roughly 100-150 visitors each day/ over 4,500 a year from all around the world. This includes Sudan, Ukraine, Iraq, Iran, Eritrea, Afghanistan and Nicaragua among many other countries. The countries listed have been the influence to the outfit I’m creating to run in, wanting to represent these flags to anyone who sees during the Cardiff Half.

A bit of a backstory from me:

Oasis was the first charity I worked with when moving to Cardiff in 2020. The team and clients at Oasis were so kind and welcoming for us (Citizen Church) to work with them. We started our partnership by running a kids drama club whilst Oasis provided ESOL classes for the mums.

Then created craft activity boxes with TikTok craft videos and group zoom calls to stay connected during lockdowns.

Citizen and Oasis’ continued partnership has developed into a place to gain work experience. Whilst refugees are waiting to receive documents for asylum they are unable to get paid work. The challenge is once they receive their documents they have 28 days to find work! Many wait at least 2 years for these documents and then have 28 days to get a job. It’s tough to get work with gaps in your CV and so many jobs require work experience or qualifications. This is why it has been so incredible to see Oasis create partnerships and spaces for people to gain professional skills and places to practice English. Oasis also fund an internationally recognised qualification in coffee that is hosted by Citizen and run by qualified SCA (Speciality Coffee Association) trainer from Hope Espresso.

Some of mine and Dan’s closest friends had to flee their country. We’ve sadly been able to see how welcomed they have been and therefore how integral Oasis is.

Unfortunately the reality of our nations welcome is not one to be too proud of, for example where our friends had been living neighbours were using it as a dumping ground as they knew it was asylum seeker and refugee accommodation.

Also, the Bibby Stockholm (founded by John Bibby with links to the Atlantic slave trade) a three-storey barge to stay in port for at least 18 months to house 506 asylum applications. There were complaints and worried on the many risks of this barge, such as overcrowding, lack of life jackets, fires etc. The Home Office said the barge would "adhere to all relevant health and safety standards." On the 7th August 2023 it was reported that 15 people boarded the barge with 20 refusing to board, then on the 11th August the barge was evacuated due to a bacteria outbreak.

Before moving to Wales I volunteered with another incredible charity, The Flying Seagull Project. The Flying Seagulls are trained teams of clowns, musicians and entertainers create safe environments for play and laughter in challenging and desperate situations, in the UK and around the world. Working towards a loving, supportive full of laughter world is what both Oasis and Flying Seagulls aim for and I want to do all I can to continue to support that. That is why I’m doing something crazy and running 21 km/ 13.1 miles!

So, please support Oasis by helping me raise money so they can continue their essential work offering a place of safety and community to asylum seekers and refugees.

How your money helps: