Summary: <br> <br> Welcome to the last Refugee Voices Scotland podcast of 2017. This podcast looks back on our favourite bits of the podcasts we have made so far. We also talk about the people and organisations that helped get us started.<br> <br> Late in 2016 in the UK, there was a lot of negative tabloid news focused on refugees and immigrants. My daughter and I were chatting in WhatsApp about the negativity and what to do about it. I make podcasts for my work. My daughter said, “why not make podcasts of refugee stories to correct the imbalance?”<br> <br> <br> <br> Very shortly, she had reserved a Gmail address and a twitter name. Refugee Voices Scotland was born.<br> <br> <a href="https://www.refugeevoicesscotland.com/refuweegee-were-a-frae-somewhere/">Our very first show</a> was about <a href="http://refuweegee.co.uk">Refuweegee</a>. Refuweegee is a community-led charity. It was set up to ensure that all refugees arriving in Glasgow are welcomed to the city in true Glaswegian style.<br> <br> <a href="https://www.refugeevoicesscotland.com/refugee-and-migrant-women-in-glasgow/">Our second show</a> focused on the <a href="http://www.milkcafeglasgow.com/">MILK Cafe</a> in Glasgow. Milk Cafe is a cafe that provides a safe and supportive environment for refugee and migrant women. They can receive employability support and work experience. It is also the centre of a multitude of cultural and educational activities.<br> <br> Selina Hales from refuweegee and Milk Cafe co-founder Angela Ireland told us what catalysed their beginnings.<br> <br> Refuweegee is famous for its welcome packs. Selina talked about the key part of their welcome packs, the letter. Finding premises for Milk Cafe was stressful. What were the chances that Angela and business partner Gabby could secure a very special place for their cafe? They did! and then opened it in only two weeks!<br> <br> <br> Refugee Voices Podcast launch<br> 2017 was the year we started this podcast. From idea to first published podcast it took a lot longer than we planned. We started from nothing but a desire to do something and we are still learning. The first questions were how do you find refugees to talk to and what will we talk about? Scottish Refugee Council pointed us to the <a href="http://www.cupofteawitharefugee.com/">Cup of Tea with a Refugee</a> events in March 2017 at <a href="http://social-bite.co.uk/">Social Bite</a>.<br> <br> Social Bite organised several networking events and our network of contacts expanded. Everyone we speak to recommends more people that we should speak to! At my first cup of tea event, we met Marie Jacquet, volunteer, English teacher and harp player and she joined us for the first two episodes. She is now back in France and we look forward to catching up with her in 2018.<br> <br> <br> Networking<br> At a refuweegee event on a hot sunny Saturday in Glasgow, I interviewed volunteers. A gentleman approached and asked what I was doing. This man was Sabir Zazai, the soon to be Chief Executive of the Scottish Refugee Council. Later, we interviewed him after he had been in the job for 4 weeks. He talked about the importance of family and supportive communities and the title of our third show,<a href="https://www.refugeevoicesscotland.com/sabir-zazai-numbers-divide-stories-connect/"> the dividing power of numbers and the connecting power of stories</a>.<br> <br> Thanks to the Al-Khair foundation, we met and interviewed Dr. Ahmad Subeh. He is taking part in the Refugee Doctors programme, which is funded by the Scottish Government. The refugee doctors programme trains doctors from other countries to practice in Scotland. In our fourth episode,<a href="https://www.refugeevoicesscotland.com/refugee-doctors-programme-scotland/"> The whole world is as small as a ball in the hand</a> he talked about the programme, his favourite bits of Glasgow and why his wife was confused b...
