Monthly running challenges
I will be trail running for charity in 2021. The charity is the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI).
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Background
In January 2020 my husband’s spouse visa was refused due to a bureaucratic error related to his English language test. It took 30 weeks and significant media attention to get the issue resolved.
This experience was on of the biggest personal challenges of my life. It is also the catalyst reason for me to be running for charity in 2021!
You can read more about our story here:
Reasons to raise funds for an immigration charity
To raise awareness of the UK’s cruel family immigration policies
My own experience of UK family immigration was bewildering and deeply distressing. As I reached out for help and sanity, I found support and understanding amongst the thousands of families affected. Some families have been separated for years.
The group where I became most involved is called ReuniteFamiliesUK. They work closely with the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants on their Keeping Families Together Campaign.
This campaign focuses on the Minimum Income Requirement for family visas. The policy sets a minimum income of £18 600 per year for a British person to live in the UK with a non-British spouse.
40% of Brits don’t earn this much. The policy disproportionately impacts on young, non-white females who live outside London.
Families have been split apart for years since the policy was first introduced in 2012. The findings of a study to discover the impact on families, is heartbreaking. It was published as an ebook called Kept Apart in 2020.
To raise funds for JCWI, a charity that works for a fair and just immigration system
Twitter became a new realm to find help and also connection with others who have been hurt by the Home Office and who are determined, like me, to speak out for change.
In October 2020, I connected with Lauren through a brilliant thread she posted. It laid bare how the UK immigration system needs to stop hurting people. She also published this as a blog.
Why running?
I’ve been a runner for most of my life and was grateful for this during my immigration journey. Running provided a space of refuge and sanity when the impact of the immigration journey affected my emotional and mental wellbeing.
Lauren’s own immigration experience compelled her to run and continued to be her outlet to get through tough times.
We teamed up to raise awareness of the UK’s cruel immigration system and funds for JCWI through our running.
About JCWI
I discovered JCWI when I was looking for ways to solve my perplexing immigration problem. They were empathic and supportive in giving me advice on how to approach the press. I learnt that this approach would have the best chance of a timely positive outcome from Colin Yeo’s book “Welcome to Britain”.
I am in awe of JCWI’s work. It is multi-layered and multi-dimensional and includes:
- advocacy for a fair and just immigration system, built on evidence and human rights.
- practical support for immigrants, including legal advice.
- legal action against the Home Office.
In the summer of 2020 they took legal action that resulted in the Home Office not using a racist algorithm for streaming visa decisions anymore.
You can help to create a better world of justice and equality by supporting JCWI.
Our fundraising goal
£12 700
This is how much it currently costs to naturalise a non-British spouse on a 5 year-settlement route- from the first visa application all the way through to getting citizenship.
The rough cost breakdown is:
- 2 visa application fees: £3,000
- 5 years paying the Immigration Health Surcharge: £3,000
- indefinite leave to remain application fee: £2,400
- British citizenship application fee: £1,300
- legal representation: £3,000
And yes, legal representation is advisable for even the most straightforward applications.
It’s a big, scary number. Just imagine how scary it is if you have to find this sort of money when you are struggling to earn more than £18 600 per year. British-international families have no choice in this if they want to live in the UK. This policy is actively making people poor. I cannot run along and do nothing!
The challenges
As soon as my husband joined me in the UK, I signed up for a Coastal marathon in Pembrokeshire. I couldn’t run without doing a fundraiser. Then the September 2020 event was postponed till May 2021. I found another marathon. That one got postponed from November 2021, till March 2021 and again till May 2021.
This led to a self-guided marathon on Gower Peninsula in November 2020. The support and encouragement from my trail running friends in particular, as well as colleagues, friends and strangers, led to the idea of expanding. It was around this time that I connected with Lauren. Her determination to raise awareness and end the cruelty of the UK immigration system was a huge motivation to keep going and be more ambitious.
The challenges will vary and evolve over time. Lauren and I will not necessarily be doing the same thing. You can see what I have blogged in so far for the year ahead. I will blog about how things have gone at the end of each month.
In January Lauren participated in RED January. She Ran Every Day, whatever the weather. This is a brave commitment to make for a Scottish January. Kudos to Lauren for completing the challenge successfully!
I ran a half marathon every weekend of January. That made for a total of 5.
My other challenge is to get the blog and the social media sorted! Lauren is a skilled content designer and I am very grateful for her input.
We have some really exciting plans for February…. watch this space.
Get involved
There is lots of room on our team, so please feel free to join in with your activities, ideas and passion for justice and equality. Reach out through the comments here or on social media. (twitter, facebook or instagram)
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Get on board to fight for a fairer immigration system, for a fairer society. Thanks for your support.
