Braich Goch Sanctuary
For many of us the experience of seeking
refuge or even being granted refugee status does not come without trauma; the
long hours of interviews being asked the same questions in many different ways,
the feeling that officials do not believe you, the constant struggle of having
to tell your story over again, to so many people whose job
is not to believe you but to catch you out and call you a liar. All of
this leaves us with a detrimental state of mind,
confusion and a very real feeling of isolation.
Braich Goch-Red Arm (BG-RA) is an
organisation of people from refugee and migrant backgrounds who understand and
have been through, or are going through, the experience of seeking Sanctuary.
This is why we want to offer our centre and expertise to
people (with an emphasis on young adults) who are also going
through, or have been through, this experience.
At the BG-RA centre we can accommodate
groups of up to 20 people for residential experiences which
include walking the beautiful mountains and valleys, swimming in rivers
and lakes and exploring the wonderful coast of the Snowdonia National
Park. During our residentials we cook, eat,
dance, sing and make music together, reclaiming our humanity and
dignity, celebrating our differences and learning from one another.
Groups may choose to come
for a resting residential to recharge and enjoy the
surroundings of the pretty village of Corris, where our
centre is located. Alternatively groups can engage in much more
structured sessions where we use critical pedagogies such as
Participatory Action Research to engage young people in
learning towards social and environmental justice. We also work with
groups to develop capacity and to take concrete action to bring about positive social
change in our communities.
We use a vast range of methods and tools to
work with people, these include: visual arts, theatre,
dance, music, participatory film making, critical reading circles and
discussion circles.
For more information on our Sanctuary
programme please send us an email (braichgochredarmcic@gmail.com ) or give us a call.
