East Kent includes Dover & Folkestone, major points of entry for asylum seekers arriving in the UK. East Kent also sits just 20 miles from Calais and people in the local area directly see the consequences of migrants and asylum seekers who are trying to cross to the UK via dangerous routes.
Despite this there are relatively small communities of refugees and asylum seekers living in the area. There are a large number of asylum seeking young people who have arrived in the UK under 18 living in Kent. A number of local organisations work to support these young people in our area most notably Kent Refugee Action Network (KRAN) https://kran.org.uk/. There is also an increasing number of Syrian Refugees being resettled into the area. We see Sanctuary as a broad concept and are interested in making sure that our area is a place of sanctuary for all marginalised group including refugees, asylum seekers, other migrants, homeless people and victims of abuse.
The East Kent Network of Sanctuary aims to be an umbrella and networking group working with localised groups in the area of East Kent. There are currently localised branches set up, or about to be set up, in Dover, Canterbury, Deal & Sandwich and on the Isle of Thanet. We hope there will be many more. East Kent is largely rural and we hope that having an umbrella group will enable us to support and inspire each other. We initially met in Dover, Canterbury and Folkestone. We are now meeting regularly in Canterbury as it seems an easy to reach location for most members. We are working to expand our network in Thanet and Ashford area.
Latest News
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Kent Schools of Sanctuary – the story so far …
In the difficult times we find ourselves in with Brexit and now with Covid-19, it is good to be able to post some positive news. In 2017, a small NGO called Samphire collaborated with Canterbury Diocese with a vision to…
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Margaret Fingerhut’s Concert in Canterbury
What an evening packed with love and solidarity!
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Refugee Week 2018 in East Kent
There are 4 events and get together in East Kent marking the 20th Anniversary of Refugee Week 2018 !
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Dover Multicultural Festival June 2018
Following the overwhelming success last year, attended by over 700 people, Samphire is delighted to be inviting you to the 2018 Dover Together Multicultural Festival on Saturday 30th of June 2018, between 12pm-4pm.
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A little update in pictures! More to come!
The Faversham and Villages Solidarity Group's stall at The Great Get Together!
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Diary Dates:
(1) Sunday 18 June, Community Picnic in Dane John Gardens, Canterbury, 2:00pm-5:00pm: The Great Get Together – an initiative of the family of the murdered MP Jo Cox. As Jo herself said in her maiden speech to Parliament,'There is more that…
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Other organisations linked with us
Within the East Kent Network of Sanctuary a number of charities and community groups are determined to achieve these aims including:
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Up and running – well walking steadily
At our early meetings we decided to initially focus on 4 areas: