Case Studies
In Kind Direct - Cameroon Asylum Support Association (CASA)
Joseph Mbang is a charming, softly spoken Cameroonian who cares passionately about asylum seekers from his native country.
He is in touch with 15 men and women at the moment who are in detention centres – asylum seekers who have failed to establish a right to come to the UK.
Joseph says that often this is not because they lack a strong case, but rather because they struggle to convey the horror of the situation they have escaped or simply cannot bring themselves to describe what has happened to them.
He says this is a particular problem for women fleeing from violent sexual abuse, as they are often still traumatised both mentally and physically.
Cameroon Asylum Support Association (CASA) in Norwood, South London, is a lifeline for such people, and nobody is ever turned away.
CASA provides housing advice, money and debt management skills, computer training, translation services and access to language classes – not only to Cameroonians, but to anyone who needs help.
They visit people in detention centres to provide comfort and support. In addition, they can help with material things too because they are in the In Kind Direct network.
Refugees often arrive with nothing except the clothes they are wearing; CASA can give them a change of clothing and basic toiletries obtained from In Kind Direct.
Packs of basic household necessities help to sustain them and bring some sort of normality into their lives.
Joseph Mbang always keeps boxes of tissues at the CASA centre, because, he says: ”So many people come in here crying. We send them away smiling. That’s what we’re here for”.
Click here to visit the In Kind Direct website.