Clubs join forces to help support refugees coming to Reading
TWO clubs that share the same east Reading venue joined forces to raise nearly £3,500 to help refugees coming to the town.
Earlier this month, members of Reading SSKI Karate and Singh Sabha Reading Taekwondo came together to present Reading Refugee Support Group with a large cheque – the fruit of their fundraising efforts.
The presentation took place at The Warehouse in Cumberland Road, where they both meet on Thursday evenings.
The money will be used on projects set up by the group, based in RISC in London Street.
The charity, which recently rebranded as Refugee Support Group to reflect its work across Berkshire, runs drop-in centres, English lessons, education services, offers advice and practical help, and organises special events such as the football tournament held at the University of Reading on Saturday (see page 3).
The two raised £3,450 to help this work.
Nick Forgham has been teaching karate for around 30 years – “I’ve lost count,” he said – and teaches traditional Shotokan karate.
“We’ve got some really good students,” he said. “Everyone seems to enjoy it.”
The money was raised fairly equally between the two clubs, through a variety of different methods, including an evening where they performed katas – patterns for different karate moves.
“Everyone did about 50 kata, for about an hour. It’s quite hard work,” Mr Forgham explained. “I told the kids that every pound we raise counts.
“What we’ve raised for the Reading Refugee Support Group is basically paying for a person to be employed to look after and support refugees that are arriving here.
“We chose the group because we wanted to do something for the local community.
“Nearly all the students here are from within a mile radius of The Warehouse, where meet.
“We wanted to do something very Reading-centric.”
Another reason was wanting to support people coming from “the terrible situation in Ukraine”, Mr Forgham said. “But if you speak to the support group, there’s refugees from Afghanistan, Yemen, and all around the world.
“We heard there were some refugees arriving in Reading, they were being looked after in some ways, but they were going hungry.
“With everything they’ve done, including leaving loved ones behind, the kids were really motivated to help out.
“I think to raise £3,450 shows what people can achieve when they come together.
“The two martial arts are quite different, but we’ve come together, we’ve worked on something that’s really significant in a local community.”
A spokesperson for Reading Refugee Support Group said the charity was thrilled with their unexpected gift.
“We’re unbelievably pleased to have received such a big donation from Singh Sabha Reading Taekwondo and Reading SSKI Karate,” a spokesperson said.
“Both of the groups have done amazing work raising money to help refugees in the area.
“We’ll use every penny to bolster our Casework team, who provide confidential advice and practical support for people who’ve fled violence and persecution from Ukraine, Afghanistan, Syria, Sudan, and many other places.
“The money will make a massive difference to a lot of people and so we’re incredibly grateful to the two groups for all of their hard work.”