RAMA - Colchester

19/08/2026

Join us for a special community evening celebrating food, culture and connection, with delicious heritage dishes from eight different countries! 🌎❤️

We are so proud to work with Skills and Training Engagement Programme , who have been supporting our clients for a couple of years and making a huge difference to their employability and future prospects. 🙌

Come along, enjoy great food, celebrate our amazing women and support their ongoing activities!

Fundraising

18/08/2026

On Friday we had the absolute pleasure of another visit by our Patron Nick Butterworth , who brought with him a cloth bag full of books to be donated to our clients, some in other languages such as Vietnamese and Portuguese.

Nick’s books have been translated into 30 languages and Nick shared that he felt the ‘soft power’ of shared reading, when he thought about both Ukrainian and Russian children reading the same story in their respective countries.

Nick also gave us a huge poster of Percy the Parkkeeper and his woodland animal friends, with multiple partly-hidden items to be found; this will help to keep our younger visitors occupied when their parents are with our Caseworkers! Thank you Nick for your generous support.💙

07/08/2026

These photos are from the Luma Art Jam session with Art Harbour, who created a warm and welcoming space for both adults and children, with help from our wonderful RAMA volunteers.

Everyone had a fantastic time, with a variety of creative activities on offer for all ages. We were also delighted to introduce our new children’s reading corner, which was a lovely addition to the day and enjoyed by many of our younger visitors.

22/07/2026

Colchester Carnival 2026 was once again a spectacular celebration of diversity, bringing together culture, food, music, art, and dance in a vibrant community festival.

Thulasinathan from the LGBTQ community
Represented RAMA performing a classic Bharatanatyam piece called “Devi Neeye Thunai”. A Tamil devotional composition dedicated to the Divine Mother, seeking her grace, guidance, and protection.

Thulasinathan is also a graduate in both Bharatanatyam and Odissi, two of India’s classical dance traditions.

Thank you Thulasinathan for your amazing performance and thank you to Major Udai Bahadur for organising the event! 💚

20/07/2026

RAMA’s Book Nook is now open! We’re delighted to have been chosen, as part of Hachette UK publisher’s “Raising Readers” initiative, as a recipient of 100 new children’s book for our young families to enjoy.

The initiative encourages parents to share books with their children and to instill in them a love of reading. For the launch we welcomed representatives from publishers Little, Brown and Company / Hachette, staff from our long-time partner Colchester Library (Essex Library Service 📚), and client families. We were joined by two children’s authors - our patron Nick Butterworth and Abdullah Aktas who writes in Turkish - who both read aloud, to the delight of those present (who doesn’t love a good story?!).

The Book Nook is open whenever the office is.... and we hope will soon become a favourite place for visiting children of all ages. A HUGE thank you to the publishers for their generosity.

19/07/2026

ROBERTA - Appeal to raise £150 for wheelchair

Can you help our client, Roberta, raise the final £150 she needs in order to secure a wheelchair appropriate for her needs?

After sustaining a gunshot wound in 2014, she was registered paraplegic and experiences significant discomfort and swelling due to a bullet that remains lodged in her back.

A former primary school teacher and Human Resources Manager, Roberta is an exceptionally kind, friendly and determined individual who, despite significant challenges, demonstrates extraordinary positivity and strength of character in all she does. In her own words, writing about her experiences after 2014:

I finally understood that acceptance is not giving up. Acceptance is claiming the power to define yourself. I realized that my survival was a victory, and this body—my resilient, complex, and beautiful body—is a testament to that fight.

I stopped seeing my disability as a consequence of violence and started seeing it as a fact of my life, a core part of my identity. I accepted that I will never move the way I did in 2013, but I move with a fierce, stubborn grace that 2013 me never had.

Living on an allowance of £9.50 per week, Roberta simply cannot afford £150 and, yet, has been waiting for a wheelchair which is safe and fit for purpose since she came to the UK in 2024.

You can donate here —> https://localgiving.org/donation/rama/start?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio&fbclid=PAdGRleATJkwBwZG9mAmV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkDzEyNDAyNDU3NDI4NzQxNAABp5JKX_pmK9l9eSP_V4Ml2z7t7zYoXkuIY1B5cFMwQENq-mpE83o6n2YpkQV6_aem_s2vRHe8dK1845CeshJmTHA

08/07/2026

On the very hottest day of the year (so far!) we were lucky enough to take a group of 10 clients on a sailing trip aboard The Pioneer; a beautifully renovated 160-year-old fishing smack based in Brightlingsea.

Sailing along the River Colne, the group enthusiastically participated in a range of maritime tasks such as rigging, changing the sails, steering the boat and, of course, making tea! The day required serious team work and the experience fostered a deep connection among the group.  While seeking shade under one of the sails, participants spontaneously started to sing together in Arabic, French, English, and Sudanese languages. The therapeutic impact of the trip was clear to see and, as one client said afterwards: “This was the best day. Thank you for this day. My mind was at peace.”

A heart-felt thanks to all the individuals, volunteers and partners who make these trips and visits possible and help make our clients feel more welcome and connected to their local community!

03/07/2026

🚨Exciting opportunities available with CAMS and CASP:
• Survivor Connect Coordinator (20 hrs/week)
• Antislavery Coordinator (8–10 hrs/week)

Apply now – applications close 31 July 2026.

01/07/2026

It was an honour for one of our caseworkers to attend the Bako awards at Colchester Institute.

This award holds a very special place in the hearts of everyone at RAMA. We will always remember Bako who was sadly murdered. He was an exceptionally kind, caring, and generous gentleman. Valued and much-loved client of RAMA who will never be forgotten. The award is a wonderful tribute to his life and legacy, and we are incredibly proud to play a part in keeping his memory alive.

We have had the privilege of working with a remarkable young man for over 3 years now. During that time, we have witnessed first-hand the strength, determination, and resilience he has shown in overcoming significant challenges.

With the unwavering support of the college and the dedicated guidance of his teachers, he has continued to move forward, even when the path has not always been easy. He has also remained committed to his education and to building a brighter future.

Today, he is thriving, developing new skills, growing in confidence, and making outstanding progress. Clearly, a role model student whose positive attitude and willingness inspire everyone around him. He reminds us that even in our most difficult moments, with support, determination, and belief in ourselves, great things are possible.

25/06/2026

We have been able to cover a hotel until Monday and his care was reinstated yesterday for the first time in a week. The money also enabled us to buy some fresh clothes and pay for food. Huge thanks to everyone who has donated. ❤️

🚨 URGENT APPEAL 🚨

We have been alerted to a deeply concerning situation involving a 54-year-old disabled asylum seeker who uses a wheelchair and requires care three times a day to meet his basic needs.

He was evicted from his asylum hotel and has now spent SIX NIGHTS outside, sleeping in his wheelchair. Yesterday, we advised him to attend the local hospital, where staff were extremely concerned about his condition. They have told us that he cannot continue surviving like this.

His legs are now severely swollen, he is developing pressure sores, and because he is destitute, he has not been eating properly. As a result, his medications are becoming ineffective.

Multiple referrals have been made to social services, but support has been refused. We have been told that as soon as he has accommodation again — even a hotel or emergency shelter — they can reinstate his carers. However, he has no recourse to public funds, and no local shelter is able to accommodate his needs.

We urgently need to get him into a hotel before the upcoming heatwave puts his health at even greater risk. This will give us the opportunity to continue pressing the Home Office for emergency accommodation and secure the support he desperately needs.

If you can help, please visit our local giving page via the link below and reference HOTEL when donating.

https://localgiving.org/charity/rama

Every hour matters.