Refugee who fled war in Syria has now helped 29 young people start new lives in the UK through a Coventry charity

A Syrian refugee who arrived in Coventry three years ago has helped more than two dozen newly arrived young people (NAYP) settle in the city.

Dalshier Othman, who arrived in the UK with his family in 2019, has helped a group of 29 young people follow in his footsteps to start new lives in Coventry through Positive Youth Foundation (PYF)’s Boost programme.

Dalshier, who fled the war in Syria and arrived in the UK through the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme at the end of 2019, participated in English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) provision offered by PYF to help him integrate in the city.

And now, the 22-year-old, who is a Youth Engagement Officer for the charity, has helped almost 30 others tackle the challenges he faced after his own arrival through PYF’s Boost programme.

The programme is funded through Coventry City Council Migration Team, and consists of a 10-week intensive ESOL provision complete with breakfast and lunch in a dedicated learning space.

School visits, functional skills including numeracy and computer use, and enrichment activities also form part of the programme, which has so far been delivered to young people on the UK Resettlement Scheme and the Afghan Relocations Associations Policy Resettlement Scheme, as well as supporting recent arrivals from Hong Kong.

Dalshier said: “The thing I enjoyed most while supporting the programme is that it reminded me of when I came to the UK. I came here in a similar way, and now I am helping them.

“As a newly arrived young person and a student, I can say there is a big difference in young people who are isolated and are not able to practise talking or listening in English.

“The young people were able to practise English every day, I have noticed that every single young person has made a lot of progress through the 10 weeks.”

PYF, which recently celebrated its 10^th anniversary as a charity, supports young people in the city across a range of engagement programmes.

The Boost programme was created after the charity identified that newly arrived young people, especially those joining school in Years 8-12, have a significantly lower chance of integrating into the education system compared with their peers – affecting academic performance, employment opportunities and their mental wellbeing.

All of the 29 participants arrived in the UK in June 2022 and many were still confirming school places for the Autumn term while they were studying for the Boost programme. 

A young person who took part on the programme said: “It was really fun. I realised that teamwork was really important and it helped me develop my leadership skills. It also helped with my creativity. I had to be really creative in order to make this project unique and different to others. I hope to do it again soon.”

Obayed Hussain, Programmes Manager at PYF, said: “Arriving in any new country represents a massive opportunity for people, but there are so many challenges to overcome and it is inspiring to see Dalshier supporting those who face the same obstacles as he has over the last few years.”

“Successful integration into communities, workplaces and other institutions often depends on your ability as a young person to acclimatise very quickly to the education system.”

“The hope for this programme was to give young people the tools to understand the education system and give them a taste of being in a school environment before enrolment, reducing the risk of them being side-lined, ostracised or left behind in class, and we are incredibly lucky to have people like Dalshier supporting that goal.”