Volunteering

I believe we need to look after people. The best way to do that is to walk a mile in another person’s shoes. With that in mind, I volunteered for Citizens Advice West Oxfordshire as an advisor. The team is excellent. Their professionalism and determination is inspiring, which is just as well, as the complexities of benefits, housing or debt advice were eye-opening. CAWO (as it's called) helps people find a way forward with emphasis on helping people to help themselves. Being on the phone with clients talking through all sorts of problems was sometimes painful, but it was also exciting when I was able to make a difference.

When I was elected a district councillor in May 2022, I was asked to become one of the trustees representing the council on CAWO’s board. As per CAWO’s rules, this meant that I had to give up being an advisor. Since being a trustee, I’ve primarily been focussed on seeking to put in place more secure funding for CAWO.

Back in 2016 my wife Sophie saw a Facebook post from an American journalist friend asking whether anyone could help Ziad, a Syrian refugee, who had just arrived in the UK. One thing led to another, and first Ziad, and then Anas and then his wife and two children came to live with us over the course of the next year. Others dropped in for a few days or a few weeks. We really enjoyed them staying with us. One of the things that we learned was that helping them sort through basic problems which were relatively simple for locals were huge help for them – doctor’s appointments, English lessons, opening bank accounts, finding jobs and getting kids into school. Last year, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine led to Nika and Khrystyna staying with us through the summer. Nika’s now continuing her university course but in the UK rather than Kyiv and Khrystyna is back in southwestern Ukraine, studying for her medical degree.

All the family enjoyed having house guests