We are Marlow Refugee Action

At the end of 2021, the number of displaced people around the world is at its highest since the Second World War, at over 89 million people – greater than the entire population of the UK.

The number of refugees has increased from 10.5 million a decade ago, to 21.3 million at the end of 2021. Around half of these refugees are under 18 and find themselves fleeing their home countries as a result of persecution, war or violence. Between 2018 and 2020 one million children were born as refugees.

Although it can feel like there is little we can do individually, together we can make a real and lasting difference.

Get Involved

We focus our efforts on raising awareness through talks and community events, fundraising for frontline charities in Europe and beyond whilst also supporting refugees and asylum seekers locally.

Our principles:

we want to help a small number of people a lot
we want to make the people and the issues real
we want to connect people with the issues
we want to support projects that have connections in one way or another with our local community

Marlow’s Ukraine Response Fund

A fundraiser for Ukrainian families who will be coming to Marlow and the local area was launched at our Annual Meeting on Friday 1 April.

In conjunction with the Marlow Ukraine Collective community group we are fundraising to ensure that when our Ukrainian guests arrive in Marlow the community is able to offer them the support that they need. As of September 2022, the Marlow Ukraine Collective has over 69 families/individuals within their network who are hosting around 175 Ukrainian guests (over half of whom are children).

This money will be ringfenced for enabling access to education, school uniform/footwear, educational resources and recreational activities.

Please donate if you can to help us reach our target of £10,000.

Tom’s volunteering in Athens

Tom Doust, one of MRA’s founding members, has been in Greece this summer. He was volunteering at an organisation called Ankaa (www.ankaaproject.org) which provides support to vulnerable communities such as asylum-seekers, refugees, migrants and other people seeking employment. He has been volunteering as a teacher at Ankaa since 2019. You can read more about his most recent work there in our news section https://marlowrefugeeaction.org.uk/news/

Advisory Board

We have set up an Advisory Board to increase our knowledge of the current refugee situation. Find out more about why it was set up and how it works here.

Afghani refugees in High Wycombe

MRA is in regular contact with Wycombe Refugee Partnership who support refugee families in the area. They are currently hoping that accommodation can be found for a second family from Afghanistan. WRP send out requests for specific items, or specific help, as they identify them and we will ensure that these are promoted through our social media as well. You can follow WRP to get the latest updates here: www.facebook.com/groups/1069995593044656

Phones for refugees

Mobile phones are still needed for refugees who have recently arrived in the UK. We attended the All Saint’s Church Fun Day in September and had a Donation Station for mobile phones – we were delighted to receive so many and are happy to receive more. These will go to refugees via Care4Calais. Please visit www.phones4them.org.uk to donate a phone.

More information on the number and types of displaced persons, their origins and countries where they are currently living, can be found on the UNHCR website.