We Spoke to 3 Parents About Their Dreams for Their Children: This is What They Said

How many children do you have?

Three.

One.

Two.

What ages are they?

Nine years, seven years and three years.

Nineteen.

Five and nine.

What do your children like to do?

Playing around with their toys or watching children’s channels on TV.

Studying to become a physiotherapist.

Playing games.

What makes your children happy?

Going out to parks and playing with other children.

Being with family.

School.

What is difficult for your children?

It is difficult not being able to give them presents for Christmas or birthdays.

Lack of money and opportunities.

Language.

What dreams do you have for your children?

To be able to stand out in whatever they do, especially when doing any group work. Also to have the confidence to deal with any problems they face.

To be a good doctor and help people in need.

To be happy.

What do your children think of the UK?

It’s a nice place to live but they dislike the property and the area where we are staying.

It is a safe place and he loves it a lot.

How have you found being a parent in the UK?

Difficult, full of struggles! The community where we stay hardly wants to speak to us. Making financial decisions is difficult because the support you get as an asylum seeker does not help enough. We could not pay for the fees to get the children into any after school activities as well as pay for the bus ticket to school, or any school trips. The weekly allowance given to us could not cover these expenses. So my children don’t associate with other children. The activities could have helped them to integrate or associate more with other children. This will affect their physical and emotional development. Trying to pay these fees causes us lots of financial difficulties and puts us in a very serious problem.

It is safer being a parent here.

We want to provide support to refugee children and families fleeing war and persecution when they first arrive in the UK through new project Firm Foundations. We want to provide a safe space for kids to be kids, and an encouraging and empowering environment for parents to access the help they need to support themselves and their children. You can make a donation to Upbeat by clicking here.