Ahmad arrived in London a year ago after fleeing violence and persecution in his homeland, Syria. Arriving in London he was a stranger in an unfamiliar city, and had no one to turn to for help and support. For Ahmad, getting to and from important places, such as the supermarket and the doctors was a huge challenge on his meagre asylum allowance of £36.95 a week and this is a challenge faced by many refugees in the city.
Ahmad then found The Bike Project which gave him a bike, and with a new bike came freedom. Having a bike has given him the opportunity to experience this unique city in a personal way, and saved his precious allowance. The Bike Project has changed his life and now he’s giving back to help other refugees to get a bike, and feel welcome. The Bike Project, based in Brixton helped 1,300 refugees with free bikes in it’s first three years and has growing support from both locals and refugees who come into to volunteer their time to help others. The project was recently featured in a Channel 4 News film which can be found here.
We invited Ahmad to share his story at our annual digital storytelling training day, the Social Media Exchange 2017. Ahmad shared his personal experiences with a room of over 170 charity staff and expert citizens in this moving Talk.
Since the Social Media Exchange Ahmad has hosted a series of dinners called the ’Aleppo Supper Club’ where he can celebrate and share the culture of his homeland through food and music with different groups of people.
Find out more about the Bike project: www.thebikeproject.co.uk | @The_BikeProject
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