Afghan Refugees Resettlement Programe: A Legacy
Having Supported More than 100 Afghan Refugee Families Arrived in Islington Since 2021
In 2021, when the first wave of Afghan refugees arrived in the UK following the Taliban’s takeover of Kabul, KMEWO partnered with Islington Council to provide tailored advice and advocacy to newly arrived families in the borough. For over one year, staff had been based at a hotel in Islington providing ongoing support to refugees.
The wide-ranging support included community-based advice, one-to-one guidance, ongoing emotional and trauma-informed support, as well as the identification of safeguarding concerns.
In 2022, the service expanded to include a women-only group called STARS (in Dari: ستارگان – Setāregān, meaning “stars” plural). This group convened weekly and offered a mix of integrative activities, workshops, therapeutic and art sessions, as well as outings to various London venues. The aim of the group was to break the cycle of isolation, empowering women to navigate life in the borough and across London with greater confidence, and to come together to share and learn from their own experiences. Participation was notably high and consistent.
As many of the newly arrived women did not speak English, we provided interpretation services, referrals to English classes, and tailored English sessions delivered at home or online for mothers with babies under the age of one.
The project was successfully completed in 2025, having supported more than 100 families in total. As part of its legacy, KMEWO also recruited four individuals from the Afghan community—former service users—demonstrating a powerful example of integration and inclusion in practice. Although the project has now formally ended, we continue to support Afghan refugee women through our ongoing English classes, counselling, and therapeutic sessions.
We strive for all women’s Equality, Justice, and Empowerment.
Case Study: S In Her Own Words
This is S. an Afghan girl, who overcame many challenges in life. Specifically, in terms of education. I started my school in one of the most remote areas of Afghanistan. Getting into a school was not easy, as it required me to walk two hours to get there and two hours back home, but I managed to complete my secondary school by walking four hours every day, which was very difficult, but the force of enthusiasm made it tolerable for me. My family and I moved to Kabul the capital of Afghanistan, where getting into school was easy, however, many explosions were happening in different public places, especially in educational institutions. I survived an explosion in my college, while I was preparing for the Afghan university entrance exam but sadly, I lost my friends and many classmates, who were as talented and hardworking as me and every one of them had a dream to achieve. I did not give up and attended there at the risk of my life because I believe that life without dreams, hope, and goals is nothing except existence. I sat the exam and succeeded in computer science my desired field just a week before Kabul fell by the Taliban, and unfortunately as a girl, I did not get the chance to go to university; I had to leave everything honed including my parents and flee Afghanistan with my sisters. At arrival in the UK with a few words of English and was accommodated at a hotel for one year, was difficult but I used that time as an opportunity to learn and improve, my English, and integrate into the country.
in August 2022, we moved to Islington to start our life from scratch although, it was and is challenging. However, we are lucky to have people around us who are very generous and supportive such as the Islington council team, caseworkers, and KMEWO. I cannot thank you enough for all your help. I was introduced to KMEWO by my caseworker, and I became a part of the Afghan Refugee Women’s group ‘STARS’ which offered integrative activities to newly arrived Afghan refugees in Islington. After a couple of months, there was a volunteer opportunity that helped, me to be part of the organization and the wider community. I had been working as a volunteer at KMEWO for one year and participated in almost every event they were delivering at that time. It was a very good occasion for me to socialise and tackle isolation with other people from the Afghan community and others.
In September 2023, I participated in KMEWO’s in-house training on management and leadership while I was at the College to study digital and computer science, which as I said has been my dream since I was a child. After completing the training, I felt encouraged to apply for a job at KMEWO and I was recruited as a sessional staff. The first time I came to the organisation I realised that they are a very welcoming community and now I am very happy to be part of KMEWO’s family. Honestly, I miss my parents and everything back home, but on the other hand, I feel happy because I have my freedom and other opportunities especially the right to get education.