Dedicated volunteer braves cold sea to raise much-needed funds for Friends Without Borders

Eight minutes of sponsored swimming through chilly waves saw Lia Deyal raise more than £1,500 for Friends Without Borders, with hopes for more to flood in.

Lia’s efforts in the 5C water at Lee-on-the-Solent will help to support homeless asylum seekers in Portsmouth by providing £5 extra per week through the cold months ahead.

Lia, from Lee-on-the-Solent, volunteers twice a week for Friends Without Borders at the charity’s drop in sessions.

She said: ‘Everything is so bad for the homeless and destitute asylum seekers. It is so cold this year, and windy with so much rain.

‘In non-pandemic times we run a drop in twice a week. The clients can come have tea or coffee, something to eat. They can see each other for mutual support.

‘Many make some sense of their lives volunteering in the kitchen, at the reception, as advisers or by being mutually supportive.

‘There are six hours every week where they can be out of the cold and have somewhere where they belong.’

During the pandemic, this service has been closed and volunteers like Lia have been offering befriending services over the phone to keep up contact.

Lia has been doing a new year’s swim for around 15 years to raise a small amount for the charity.

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However, in 2019 an expected donation of £1,000 fell through and Lia stepped up to the task to raise the same amount to ensure the extra funds could be given to service users.

She said: ‘These clients were getting just £20 each a week. These clients get nothing from the government or the Home Office.

‘Their initial claims for asylum have failed. In many cases it would be extremely challenging for them to return to their counties of origin, there are no flights or they have no travel documents.

‘Sometimes they are so traumatised by what they have seen and experienced that they would rather have nothing than return at this point. This is a big decision.’

Lia’s sponsored swim last year raised more than £2,000 - and she is hoping to make the same impact this year despite not seeing as many people.

Visit justgiving.com/lia-deyal1 to make a donation.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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