Migration Yorkshire is a UK based charity that will look at helping child refugees into foster care. It’s founder, Hossain Ahmadi, fled Iran in 2015 when he was only 14 years old. He lives with a foster family in Leeds, and now wants to help others in a similar situation. This month, his charity was granted £500,000 to help ensure safety, security and peace of mind for young people fleeing war-torn states.

Hossain’s Journey

Mr Ahmadi has recently himself – In November last year, he was informed that it would be safe for him to return home and the Home Office denied his right to asylum. However, he appealed the decision due to fears of execution or imprisonment, and further investigation was made. In December, the decision was overturned and Hossain was granted 5 years asylum in the UK.

During his time in Iran, Hossain said that his father was killed by the Government and his brother was taken during a raid on the family home. It shows the extreme circumstances that many children worldwide have to deal with, and the immense importance of charities like this one.

Migration Yorkshire

Children in this position are in desperate need of both attention and support. It also shows the stress and trauma that young people have to endure, even when arriving in the UK. Applying for and appealing right to asylum can be tricky, and for young children this can cause a severe amount of stress. Hopefully, this program will make the transition far easier for the young people that have had to leave their home behind, and the new funding will help to provide better care and services to these young people.

Last year in the UK, there were just under 3,000 unaccompanied young asylum seekers. The program will look at finding foster carers who have not fostered before, from a range of different backgrounds to help better reflect the diversity of the children. It will be undertaken alongside local authorities.