Building Community in the Cold!: Upbeat’s Trip to Carsington Water
Refugee Integration Worker Elliot decided to arrange a trip to Carsington Water for some of the families that have been stuck in hotels after fleeing Afghanistan last year. It was chilly, but that didn’t stop everyone from having a good time! Here are Elliot’s reflections…
First there was Storm Dudley, followed by Eunice, then Franklin. Derby was gridlocked due to flooding. A trip across town had taken one Upbeat volunteer three hours. So a trip to Carsington Water was not sounding like such a good idea. How far through the alphabet would we get with named storms? Would people even want to come?
A few families were already waiting when I arrived at the Upbeat base, ready to drive everyone there in the bus. The sky was bright and clear but the participant who said they should have brought their swimming stuff was being overly optimistic. After all it is February! Other families soon appeared clutching packed lunches and pushing strollers.
After clambering aboard and finding places on the bus we were off! Look at the fields, sheep, alpacas. However, the cows seemed to produce the biggest response. Phones were out, parents were pointing things out to their children and there was a lot of chatter. It was almost as if the fields had dressed for the occasion and the sky was extra bright to celebrate the first time many people had been outside of Derby for seven months.
After arriving at Carsington, children played at the playground and got very muddy running over the waterlogged grass. For many this may be the first time they have run on grass and got their shoes muddy. Mums posed, for quite a long time, for selfies in front of and in some cases almost in the water. The more adventurous teenagers ran around relishing the freedom of being released from their confined rooms. And many of the men decided to take the opportunity to walk all the way around the reservoir. Our wonderful volunteers chatted about the local wildlife, shared gloves, and helped make a great day out for everyone. I think some people will sleep well tonight.
“Everyone enjoyed it. The walk was great.”
“Thanks so much for thinking about me.”
“Thank you it was a beautiful and wonderful trip.”
Thank you to Upbeat Volunteers Don and Gillian for making everyone feel so welcome. And thank you to the many of you whose financial support made this possible. Thanks to you, families have new photos in their phones, new memories and a greater understanding of what exists just outside the city.
If you’d like to volunteer with us to help create community amongst those seeking refuge in our city, we’d love to hear from you. Head to upbeatcommunities.org/volunteer to fill out an application for one of our many project areas that are recruiting — from English class support, to befriending and helping out at day trips like this one.