As retirement approached I wondered what I would do after a career as an engineer in the Royal Navy and a Management Consultant. I loved languages and thought I could teach English as a foreign language. I dreamt of sitting in a book lined room, wearing an old cardigan and slippers, teaching the beauty of our language and culture: mmm, maybe. Well, I got the qualification and did some teaching, retired and life took over.

Then, as troops pulled out of Kabul in 2021 I found out that Sanctuary in Chichester needed English teachers. I remembered my certificate, joined the charity and taught English to three ex-military men from Afghanistan. No cardigan, no slippers but helping them with the language and other things as well.

One day, I took them to Portsmouth for an ‘Afghanistan boys’ day out’. They had never seen the sea before. We picnicked on Southsea beach, at one point one of the men faced east to prayed discreetly, then and on the way home the car resounded to music from Afghanistan; a real lads’ day out! Afterwards, they told me how much that day had raised their spirits and given them hope. For me, it was one of the most rewarding things I had ever done; so little from me but so much for them.

Not long after, the Russians invaded Ukraine and my wife and I supported a Ukrainian woman and her children. I helped the women write her CV. She had been involved in theatre in Ukraine, and before that she had been a police officer. I had to explain to her that being a crack shot with a pistol was perhaps not an appropriate thing to put on her CV in the UK! She is now independent with a career here, and her children are thriving at school.

Sanctuary in Chichester’s beneficiary numbers doubled after the Home Office took over a local hotel to house asylum seekers, and I found myself teaching English classes there with other volunteers. Then I joined the Sanctuary Asylum Support Group and helped with asylum submissions and appeals. It was a swift learning curve for us.

Meanwhile, clothes were donated for our new beneficiaries. These piled up in a room in the hotel, and I do mean piled up! My wife (also a Sanctuary volunteer) bravely stepped forward to get it organised. She encouraged residents to help, along with other members of Sanctuary, and I got involved too. It is now a clothes ‘shop’, with decent, clean clothes on rails. The shop has become a social centre where mostly women come to chat and laugh, try on clothes and have a shopping experience, although the clothes are free.

Supporting Asylum Seekers has become the main thrust of my involvement now. Knowing that we can help someone who arrives with only the clothes they stand in, supporting them to navigate our bureaucracy and improve their English, and lifting spirits in little ways is a great reward, as we can see that in some small way we have helped our fellows.

If you could use the skills and experiences you have or just want to help make others coming to a strange country feel welcome, happy and safe, then Sanctuary in Chichester is for you.

Visit our volunteering page and fill out the application form here >>