Meet Jyoti, our Lead Caseworker

We were able to sit down with Jyoti to talk about her past experience teaching in Spain and creating a welcoming environment for refugees and asylum seekers coming to the UK.

I went to Liverpool John Walls University and did a degree in English literature. I currently work at a charity as my full-time job along with volunteering at REFEO. I have always wanted to work in the charity sector. I taught English in Barcelona for a few years.

What I do on the day to day at REFEO is contact clients to complete applications, I answer emails that come into our inbox which could be from other organisations or from people seeking help, and I collect case studies from our previous clients to show our impact.

What motivates you with this work?

I was lucky to be born into a safe environment with food, water and shelter. I want to be able to use my privilege to help other people and working at REFEO seemed to be a great place to do that.

It is important to work with refugees in the UK, because many people consider the UK to be safe, and it is our responsibility to help and support people as best as we can as we have the resources to do so. Decisions by this government have created some of the situations people are fleeing from. The media and politicians portray refugees quite negatively, so we should show refugees that there are people that want to help and support them.

The most rewarding part of volunteering here is being able to talk to the people we get to help. Creating the case studies I was able to talk about the hardships people have gone through and hear about the impact our work has had on their lives.

What is your favourite place in the world?

I love to travel, but my favourite place is a beach or somewhere at sunset.

What brings you joy?

Food, travel, laughing, my friends, family, music, books, films, and being sarcastic.

If you are interested in volunteering with us or would like more information, please reach out.