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30 August 2012

Supporting asylum seekers in Manchester

The Boaz Trust is one of the amazing projects that have been nominated for this year's Inspire Awards.

The Trust was started in 2004 as a result of the need of numerous asylum seekers who on coming to the UK find themselves with little or no support and therefore in real destitution.

It now houses more than 60 asylum seekers and five refugees in Greater Manchester.

The Boaz Trust has 10 houses and local host families where asylum seekers can find accommodation, but they do a great deal more than simply house the people who come to them.

Asylum seekers can have access to healthcare, other specialist services and legal expertise to help them move on with their claim for asylum.

They provide their residents with food and other essentials on a weekly basis.

The Meaningful Lives programme means that asylum seekers who could otherwise find themselves without any daily activity, can take part in various useful classes and become more integrated into the local community.

In addition to all of this, the Boaz Trust seeks long-lasting solutions for the problems asylum seekers face by campaigning for changes in the asylum system and raising awareness.

The founder and director of the Boaz Trust, Dave Smith (pictured), already had his work, and that of the project, recognised when he received an OBE earlier this year.

More than simply providing for people’s physical needs, the Boaz Trust strives to tackle the everyday problems asylum seekers face. In the words of one of their Ethiopian clients: “[The Boaz Trust] means more than anything.

“I don’t have the words to say. I believe God has prepared Boaz for this work. I am still alive because of Boaz. When I think about my situation before, I was like a dead person, now I feel I am alive. I have got energy to do different things. I have got everything.”

It is because of projects like the Boaz Trust that the Evangelical Alliance is partnering with Inspire magazine on the Inspire Awards; because hearing their stories is an inspiration to all of us.

If you think there is a project which will inspire others that should be entered for the award, then please don’t hesitate to nominate them.

More information on the Inspire Awards and how to make your nomination: Inspire Awards