Samina has been attending the women’s group since our very first session.

When she first arrived, no one else in the group could speak her language, Kurdish. She spoke no English beyond yes, no and please, which meant she was very withdrawn at first.

Regardless of the language barrier, the other women were very kind to Samina, teaching her basic phrases and helping her communicate with pictures.

We delivered a basic course including vocabulary to use in everyday scenarios such as buying food and clothing. Then we practiced putting these into simple sentences.

As time went on and more women joined the group, we were thrilled to see Samina communicating with them more using her limited English.

Now Samina can join in conversations at a basic level without worrying about making mistakes in front of the group. She made a lot of progress, not only in growing her English skills, but growing her confidence.

Find out about other ways that we support  people like Samina.