"Home Means Hope" by H 

My name is H, and Wales is the place I finally feel safe. I was born and raised in Sudan, but my roots go back to Eritrea and Ethiopia. My mother came to Sudan at a young age and lived there as a refugee. Life there wasn’t easy. Being Christian in a mostly Muslim country brought challenges.  I recall now, there was no church in my town and sometimes I felt lost because I couldn’t practice my religion freely. I wish I could say that was the last time I felt that way.  

In 2014, everything changed. Because of family problems and struggles that were getting worse, I made the hard decision to leave the only home I had ever known. I was separated from my two eldest children, who went to Norway with their father. I stayed behind with my youngest son, trying to survive. We travelled through Libya, where life was very hard. But I met kind people, too. “There is bad and good everywhere,” I always say. 

Eventually, with the help of someone who risked a lot for us, my son and I arrived in the UK. I didn’t know the man disappeared with all my documents. At Heathrow, I was scared and confused. They told me to go back, but I said, “I have nowhere to go. My mother is gone. I don’t know my father. Where would I return to?” 

Once we were finally allowed to stay, they first moved us to London. I didn’t know anyone, and I didn’t even understand the food in the hotel. On of the most vivid memories I have of that time is when my son was crying in a shop for a toy. I didn’t have money. A kind woman offered to help, but I was scared. I thought maybe if I accept, they will take my child. But slowly, things started to change. 

After spending some time in London, I was moved to Cardiff, and then finally to Newport where I still live now. When I arrived in Wales, something felt different. The people here are friendly. They say ‘Good morning’ even if they don’t know you. That small kindness meant the world to me. It gave me the confidence to start life anew, to start studying. When I first enrolled there was still a part of me that was afraid people would judge me because I was a refugee, but I learned they just didn’t know what it meant. When I explained, they were shocked—and kind. One woman, Laura, helped me so much. She even drove me to college every day and paid for my certificate when I had nothing. She didn’t know me, but she supported me like family. Having just person who believed me changed my life.  

Now, I work for the Welsh Refugee Council. I started as a volunteer, and then I was offered a job. I’m very proud of the work I do. I love to support others because I know how it feels to arrive with nothing. 

My biggest dream is to be reunited with all my children and to have our own home. I want people to see that refugees are not so different—we are mothers, workers, students, friends. Wales gave me safety, a voice, and a future. 

If you’ve made it this far in my story there is one thing I want you to take away from my story: if you are open and kind, people will help you, and you can build a home for yourself again like I did in Wales. And home means hope. There is nothing you can’t achieve if you have hope.