Birchwood has been working in partnership with West Lancashire Borough Council and Lancashire County Council to develop a service to welcome families fleeing the horrors of war, in Syria.

We called our project 'Marhaba' which means 'hello' in Arabic. It is a small but very powerful word.

"As an organisation, we are proud to be supporting a small number of refugee families to resettle in the West-Lancashire community.  We will work closely with partner agencies, existing Syrian families already living here and the wider community to ensure that the families have the support they need to build a new life for themselves." CEO Stella Connell.

We have recruited Samara; an experienced English/Arabic speaking Case Worker to support each family day to day and engage both them and the wider community.

"West-Lancashire is a very nice place.  I know the families will enjoy living here. The people are very kind and have shown interest in welcoming the families and helping them.  My role is to help the families settle and integrate into this community."

 If you would like to hear more about our work or you wish to get involved and support this project, then please get in touch with Samara on 01695 7238391.