photo by Kuba Nowak (www.dokument.co.uk)
The story of my life in Britain begins in November 2010. I had decided to move here after I realised that there was nothing left for my in Poland. After surviving one of the hardest years of my life, I finally managed to secure a steady job allowing me to rent my own room. Everything seemed to be heading in the right direction; for me, somebody who could barely speak English, a steady job and a roof over my head was all that I had dreamt of when I came to this country.
However, this idyll as it may seem was short-lived. I fell ill and my life fell to pieces. Unable to work, I fell behind on my rent and was ruthlessly harassed by my landlord. For the first time in my life, I was homeless.
I was at breaking point, stuck in a hopeless situation. In one last desperate attempt to get my life back on track, I turned to Barka UK using their website and calling them.
Their response was instantaneous: the following day had a meeting with a Barka employee, a meeting that changed my life forever. Firstly Barka helped me to get into a hostel, then with a successful Employment and Support Allowance claim which had previously been rejected, and finally I got my own flat, where I am living now.
All that help was very important, but that was not everything. Barka’s support made me aware of how limited my previous life was. I was surviving, but I was most certainly not living a desirable life. It made me aware, that if I wanted to make my life in the UK worthwhile I needed to make the utmost attempt to integrate with British society. I enrolled for English classes at a college and I have just found out that I have passed to the next grade! I am working as a volunteer at Barka which has given me a new found self-confidence aswell as the satisfaction of helping other people in crisis. Barka has enabled me to believe I can fulfil my dreams and my ambitions if I work hard enough and it has given me hope that I can be a fully integrated member of British society.