Help children who arrive in the UK alone get a guardian

Hello my name is Musa Nela. I come from Albania. I’m currently studying Law with Business at The University of Law in Birmingham. I’m in my 3rd year.  At first what made me interested in this campaign was my own journey of claiming asylum and the fact I went through these difficulties. 

I have been able to get through the asylum process and I managed to survive. But, I know that not all young people made it through. I have known of young people that have committed suicide because of the pressure and they couldn’t handle the refusal. More importantly the fear of deportation and the fear of going back to their country. I know there is much that we can do to help children and young people.  I don’t want someone that comes at the age of 17 alone in this country to go through what I have gone through. If I had the option to do everything again, I know I couldn’t do it.   

I’m campaigning for the thousands of children and young people who doesn’t just need a legal guardian but they must have a legal guardian. I’m championing this campaign so that other children and young people doesn’t have to go through the difficulties I went through because I didn’t have a legal Guardian.

Musa has been selected as a finalist in the Change the World Fund, aiming to give students the opportunity to bring real change on key issues around the world. You can read about his idea here.

My name is Amina, and I'm originally from North Africa. I've been here for nearly 13 years. I've been involved since June 2019. We started the campaign then. 

I learnt how and what is a guardianship scheme and how it helps young people to understand. I've learnt loads about the immigration policies and how it works. I learnt a lot about this campaign. I now know, I can speak out for myself and not be shy. I learnt how to work with the young people from different places. My voice is being heard, which I couldn't do before. 

If I had a Guardian, it would have saved me time of waiting and waiting for hearing from the Home Office. It would have helped me to understand what the process is about and how it works. For lots of the young people they don't understand what it means going through the immigration process, when they come here.

It would have helped me with my mental health and wellbeing and to support me when I needed somebody to speak up about something I've been worried about or something that comes on my mind that I don't know how to do it. When I came I didn't know the language, English and it was really difficult for me. If I had a Guardian it would have helped me a lot. 

My name is Adil, am a student and I work in sales. I was born in Somalia but I am from a family with a long history of migration. I was told about this campaign from my local youth club, initially I was interested to visit Glasgow and research is what I want to do in the future (medical research) however after when I got involved things changed that this scheme actually works and things would have been different If I had a guardian. 

I have learnt a lot from the journey, small things make a huge impact in someone’s life like having guardian you could clearly see how the young people were happy even with them just been a month in Scotland, I have also learnt the courage and bravery of the rest of the group and some of achievement they have made regardless of their challenging situations. I have also learnt when you put young people together they can be unstoppable. 

I believe If I had a guardian my life might been much easier when I first arrived, they would have been there for me emotionally and won’t feel a burden to him/her. 

The most exciting thing about the campaign is the hope that we worked hard for being put into work and the challenge is the government opposing it. I had an amazing support when I arrived, however I always felt there were busy, a burden and not open enough for me to express my feeling so I kept to myself and I struggled with that. 

Hi, I have been a member of the youth-led commission for over a year. I became interested in the campaign to help other young people. I am past the age of having a guardian but I would like to help other people to ensure other people have someone to stand for their rights and to make things easier for them to understand.

When someone is new in the country, they need someone they can trust like a guardian. I know it is difficult for people to understand because professionals change all the time so young people need someone who will be with them throughout.  

I've learn that making change takes a long time and can be challenging. You invest time, energy and effort.