For Families

Summer holiday programme

Everyone enjoys days out in the school holidays. But those new to the city may not know what is available nor have the resources to enjoy such trips. During the school summer holidays, RESTORE organises a programme of events and the transport for families.

In 2007, RESTORE ran 7 day trips. These included: a day trip to Stratford upon Avon with the opportunity to visit Shakespeare’s birthplace, enjoying the gardens, play areas and fun fare at Warwick Park; a walk and games in the Lickey Hills with a wonderful lunch provided by friends at Lickey Church; swimming and craft parties at Handsworth Leisure Centre; and a day trip to the Columban House.

We are grateful to our team of volunteers who help to organise and implement these events.

The 2008 programme will include a day out to Ragley Hall, near Alcester to enjoy the adventure playground, maze, gardens and a traditional cream tea; a trip to the Art Gallery and Leather Museum in Walsall, along with some of our ‘regular’ trips to the Lickey Hills, Handsworth Leisure Centre and the Columban House.

Winter parties

In January each year, a church in Harborne and churches in Handsworth (through Handsworth Welcome!) organise parties. These provide a safe place for lots of fun activities and stacks of food. In 2007, the Handsworth event included a music workshop and dancing. At Harborne we were entertained by Wolly the Clown and for the older children there was the opportunity to make a flower arrangement for their Mums.

 For Men

For Men There are very limited ‘distractive activities’ provided for asylum seeker and refugee men, particularly those here in Birmingham on their own. In January 2005, RESTORE started organising activities for these men.

We go swimming at Small Heath leisure centre once a month. This not only provides opportunities for social interaction but also enables physical exercise as well. We now have a volunteer, who is a trained life guard, who helps to teach the absolute beginners and those wishing to improve. . “Learning to swim is something that many of us have taken for granted. What do you think it would be like learning as an adult? What I've seen is a mix of fun and fear; arms and legs moving in new ways to keep keen new swimmers afloat. Within minutes some are swimming, but others need time and encouragement as they develop their strokes. It's a real joy to see the delight that sharing my skills brings to those who come along.” (Quotation from a volunteer at the Men’s Social Activities)

We have organised trips to Warwick Castle, the Sea Life Centre, the Lickey Hills and Birmingham Nature Centre. “I am very happy with Restore which has helped and encouraged me in many ways. I had the opportunity of doing some nice activities such as going swimming, visiting Sea Life Centre and visiting the Botanical Gardens of Birmingham as well as meeting other asylum seekers and refugees from other countries during 2007. (Quotation from an asylum seeker)

During 2007 we started exploring some of the Museums and exhibitions in Birmingham. Many people know of Matthew Boulton College but a trip to Soho House Museum in Handsworth led to discoveries about the life and times of Matthew Boulton. We have also been to the Museum of the Jewellery Quarter, the Pen Room and the Equiano exhibition. These visits give insights into the history and development of Birmingham and many of those who attend find this extremely valuable.

A couple of RESTORE volunteers open their home to a group of up to 10 men every few months. They provide a home cooked meal of traditional British food. We have enjoyed shepherds pie, roasts, trifle, home-made ice cream and traditional Christmas dinner with all the trimmings including crackers! There is also the opportunity for the men to play table tennis, pool and table football.

Another fairly regular event is a trip to the cinema. We meet for drinks in the Library Café and have then enjoyed films like ‘Wallace and Gromit - Curse of the Were-Rabbit’, ‘Casino Royale’, ‘Mr Bean’s Holiday’ and ‘The Golden Compass’.

In the week before Christmas we went on a trip to the Big Wok Chinese Restaurant for an eat-as-much-as-you-like buffet lunch.

In 2007, there were 27 events and 59 men attended at least one event.

“I would like to say thank you Restore very much for all your invitations and help, the people are very helpful and friendly. I have enjoyed all the trips, especially the canal boat ride around Birmingham city centre to Winson Green. In the last six years I have lived in Birmingham, I wasn't able to visit the museums but because of Restore I was able to see the National Sea Life Centre, Botanical Gardens and the Art Gallery. Every month we go swimming and they teach us how to swim.” (Quotation from an asylum seeker)

 For Adults

We are now arranging occasional events for men and women. In September we took a group to the Birmingham Botanical gardens. The plants in the tropical greenhouses led to lots of comments like ‘that grows in my country’ or ‘we have them in my garden back home’! We had a leisurely walk around the grounds and then drinks and cakes on the lawns.

Friends from St John’s Harborne, organised a ‘Puddings and Party Games’ evenings and a Christmas Party which included parachute games and relays wearing Santa suits!!!

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