A NEW voluntary group in South Belfast is hoping to sponsor a family to rebuild their lives in the Ormeau Road area.

They are joining hundreds of groups all over the UK who have used community sponsorship to offer a new home to a family fleeing war and persecution. 

On Saturday, Ormeau Refugee Partnership (ORP) kicked off their fundraising activities with carol singing at three sites along the Ormeau Road, including at the Northern Lights pub’s Christmas market.

Singers from Ormeau Community Choir were joined by Cavehill Community Choir. Together they managed to raise over £2,500 of their £9,000 goal. 

As well as singing on the road, for shoppers and passers by, the group were offering ‘Carol-o-grams’. For a minimum donation of £20 singers visited local doorsteps or delivered festive cheer via video.

ORP member Anne who led the singers at Saturday’s festivities said: “We are overjoyed by the response from the community over the weekend.

"I suggested the carol singing idea to the group because for me, Christmas is a time to be generous, and so much of the Christmas story is about a family struggling to find a safe place to stay, so what better time to start our fundraising.

“And of course, all of us have had a really tough couple of years, with no live music! So this was a great opportunity to raise our voices, and spread some Christmas cheer to the whole community while raising awareness, and money, for this incredibly worthwhile cause.” 

Eleanor, one of the group’s 11 volunteers added: “We have to demonstrate we have what it takes to help a family to rebuild their lives successfully.

“That means housing, school places, translators and more. The money we are raising will be used for ad-hoc essentials like warm clothes and language lessons. It is a prerequisite for our application.

"The Home Office will work with the United Nations Refugee Agency to identify a family who is best suited to what we can offer and who are in the most urgent need. They’ll also do thorough security checks.”

“Community sponsorship is really powerful because it means there is a ready-made network of friends to help them get their bearings, learn the language if they need to and get to grips with cultural differences.

"We also hope that ORP will help us get to know other newly arrived families who might be struggling to feel at home.”

To donate to the Ormeau Refugee Partnership you can visit their crowdfunder here.