REFUGEE SUPPORT FUND MUHAMMAD'S STORY

Our Refugee Support Fund provides small grants of up to £200 to refugees and asylum seekers living in Elmbridge and the surrounding area.

We launched the fund in 2017 and since then have awarded more than 50 grants. We spoke to Muhammad to find out how your money helped him.
EVERY YOUNG MAN HAS A GOAL IN LIFE - MUHAMMAD'S STORY
On the day he launched his new business selling falafel and hummus, Muhammad felt a mix of emotions. “I was so happy,” he recalls, “but I was afraid too. I thought – how am I going to do this?”
 
It was a feeling Muhammad had experienced before. After war forced him to flee his home in Syria in 2011, he lived in Turkey for 4 years, where he met his wife and had 2 children. He was then resettled to the UK, where he was determined to build a new life for his family.
 
“I was very happy when I was told I would be going to Britain,” he explains. “But I was also afraid. I didn’t know anyone here.”
 
For many refugees, the happiness of finding safety is quickly followed by a harsh reality. They will have to work hard just to be able to communicate, make friends, earn money, and rebuild the life they lost.
 
“My English improved, and I started to make friends,” recalls Muhammad. “But I wanted to rely on myself and to be independent.”
 
Muhammad applied to Elmbridge CAN’s Refugee Support Fund, and with the small grant he received, he was able to pay for driving lessons and pass his test. After getting a job at a supermarket and buying a small car with the money he earned, he was ready for bigger challenges.
 
“Every young man has a goal in life. I don’t want to have to live on benefits – I’ve got many dreams.”
 
Muhammad’s big idea came at the university where he was taking English classes. “I was walking around the university and thinking how I could work there, how I could help the students. I noticed that people ate very healthily, and there were a lot of vegetarians. So I began to think about starting my own falafel and hummus business, using recipes from back home in Syria.”

Elmbridge CAN volunteer, Nick Davis, gave Muhammad business advice, and helped set up meetings with the university. "What I enjoyed in my collaboration with Muhammad was his enthusiasm to start on his way to independence. I experienced how helpful it was for him to have a local by his side, opening a bank account, navigating bureaucracy, acting as a sounding board... I am so pleased to have been part of such a positive story," says Nick.
 
Last month, Muhammad launched his Lord Falafel business. Despite feeling nervous on the day, the launch went exactly as Muhammad hoped. “They loved my falafel,” he says. “They said it was different to what they had tried before – they loved how I made it the classic Syrian way.” 

Despite newfound success, Muhammad hasn’t forgotten about his family back home. “Two brothers died in Syria,” he explains. “One of them has four children… My father is an old man and he’s disabled. I have two sisters I am always thinking about.”
 
“My mother said to me, ‘the children are always scared’. Their situation is very difficult – there’s no food and very little water. I think about them all the time, how I can help them. Now I can send money to help them.”
 
Muhammad’s mix of humility, ambition, and generosity is a reminder of why refugees are such assets to the UK.
 
“I want to thank Elmbridge CAN for helping me get driving lessons,” he says. “And I’d like to thank all the people who welcome Syrian families in England, everyone who welcomed me, at the airport, in my town, and to my flat.”
 
“I want to be a businessman. I want to make enough money to support my family, and one day, my dream is to create an organisation that helps orphans living in the UK.”

HOW YOU CAN HELP
​If you want to help more people like Mohammad build a life in the UK, please donate to our Refugee Support Fund and share this story with your friends.
Image: Muhammad / Lord Falafel
Image: Muhammad / Lord Falafel
Refugee Support Fund