This year we have been lucky to have been chosen by not one but two schools, Our Lady's Roman Catholic High School and Altrincham Grammar School for Girls to raise money and support our work.
Last week we headed over with our lovely volunteer Hannah to Altrincham to collect 30 wellbeing packages that the students had put together for the women we work with and toys for their children.
We were also delighted to receive poems, created for the women we work with by some of the students at Altrincham Grammar School for Girls.
We think they are brilliant, how do they make you feel?
Happiness is easily made
Happiness is easily made,
Food, hobbies, sleep or shade,
Maybe just a slice of cake,
Or to sing, dance, draw or bake.
Put a smile on someone’s face,
Take them to a happy place,
Do what you like to do best,
Whether it’s shopping, reading, cooking or rest.
So stay positive every day,
Be very kind in every way.
Happiness is easily made,
Whether it’s food hobbies, sleep or shade.
- Nafeesah
Hope is a ghost
Hope is a ghost
Dead, floating
Upon the ocean of dark.
Unreachable and far away.
Yet constantly lingering,
Haunting,
Taunting
Disintegrating as soon as it’s reached.
But it is never completely dead,
Instead waiting to be lit
To burn
To spread
A constant promise of eventual happiness
Existing.
Patiently waiting
Until the day.
The Flowers that Grow
Happiness floated around the room
Calmly watching the flowers bloom
While sat on the edge of my bed
I remember the kind words they had said
It will all be okay
- Litishaa
Happiness
Happiness,
It’s a warm feeling that spreads through your fingers and toes,
Happiness,
It makes you skip with spring in your step and laugh with your head thrown back,
Happiness,
It’s the monsters around you sniffing the air with hope,
Happiness,
It’s a thread you hang on for the day,
Happiness,
It's everywhere - in me and you,
In these walls and the shimmering sky,
In the colourful petals scattering the floor,
In your favourite food,
Happiness
- Hardawiyah
A blanket of roses
A blanket of roses, enveloping the emerald blades,
Butterflies scattered across the painted horizon,
A whirlwind of petals,
Fluttering, dancing in the gust of wind,
Breathing life into the fields.
The autumn leaves burning into the ground,
A blinding flash of a smile,
Filled to the brim with essence of sweetness.
Clouds drifting, Swaying to the wind,
Golden flowers raining on the crackled pavement.
- Yena
If happiness is what you seek
The hearth was burning brightly
A warning beacon, a sign for all
She sat there pandering wisely
It was from a time before she recalled
When she was content and happiness had been spread.
A hill goes both up and down
But eventually it will reach its peak
If happiness is what you seek
It will arrive at its peak.
A Light Breeze of Good Things
Light breezes
Heavy thoughts
A constant war
Between them all
But in the end
Good wins
Emerging triumphant
With the constant, abundant, logic of this world
Lift up the walls and the depressing calls of the voice inside your head
For in the end, hope and trust wins all
The conflicts and battles, both inside and out
Will finally cease to be
- Yiru
If you're looking to partner with a charity working with asylum seekers and refugees in Greater Manchester we'd love to hear from you. Find out about the different ways you can support us.