Introducing Stories of Hope

 

Our blog this month comes from Zizi, introducing us to our recently launched booklet 'Stories of Hope - Finding Asylum'.

My name is Ezinna Orji, Zizi as am fondly called. I actually inspired this Stories of Hope booklet with other ladies. I was an asylum seeker and passed through the process though with challenges but now am a community practitioner that empowers others that are in the process .

 

It all started from the accent as everything was wee in Glasgow, then to communicating, housing, access to health care, basic amenities -

and where to access these information to get us settled.

 

It was a bit of struggle because the asylum stigma was there. But with time I realised that there was great assistance only if we got through to the right channel.

 

The thought of telling our stories in a comic way brought about the creation of this book so as to enable both people that can and can’t read to see that there is hope.

 

When things happen in your life, you have three choices. You can either let it define you, let it destroy you or you can let it strengthen you.  And I choose strength. 

 

This booklet is just to let those in the process know that there is a lot to access and help while in the asylum process like education, getting to know your community, making friends, bonding and bridging gaps, sharing your stories to empower others and also volunteering to give you added advantage to becoming self-confident.

 

For me I have always been hopeful. Our eyes are in front because it is more important to look ahead than to look backwards.

 

Past is a waste-paper, present is a newspaper, and the future is a question paper. Come out of your past, control the present, and secure the future.

 

This is not just a story of hope but reality to being happy.

You can read the beautiful booklet of welcome we created here:

https://issuu.com/magictorchcomics/docs/stories_of_hope_digital_