Navigating Sanctuary Life is delighted to announce that it has been awarded funding from The National Lottery Community Fund to deliver its new community-led project, Togetherness Builds Wellbeing, in Milton, Glasgow.
Navigating Sanctuary Life, one of Scotland's newest refugee-led charities, has received the funding to deliver Togetherness Builds Wellbeing, a year-long programme based in Milton that will bring people together through social, cultural, and community activities designed to foster lasting relationships and a stronger sense of belonging. The funding comes at a significant moment for many migrant communities across Glasgow. Recent anti-immigration protests and demonstrations have left some asylum seekers and refugees feeling increasingly anxious about participating in public life, with community organisations reporting concerns about social withdrawal and growing isolation among some of the city's most vulnerable residents.
For Navigating Sanctuary Life, the project represents more than a series of activities. It is a response to a growing need for connection, trust, and community at a time when many people feel uncertain about their place in society. Founded by individuals with direct experience of seeking sanctuary in the UK, the charity was established on the belief that successful integration requires more than access to basic services. It requires opportunities for people to build relationships, participate in community life, and feel valued as members of society.
Speaking about the award, founder Ivan Kakembo said the funding would help create safe and welcoming space where people can reconnect with their communities. We are deeply grateful to The National Lottery Community Fund and to National Lottery players for believing in our vision and investing in our community. This funding arrives at a time when many asylum seekers, refugees, and ethnic minority residents are feeling anxious and isolated. Following recent anti-immigration demonstrations in Glasgow, some people have become reluctant to attend public events or engage with their wider communities because they no longer feel safe or welcome. Projects like Togetherness Builds Wellbeing are important because they create opportunities for people to come together, form friendships, build confidence, and feel a genuine sense of belonging.
Born from lived experience and shaped by the voices of asylum seekers themselves, Navigating Sanctuary Life places dignity, culture, and human connection at the heart of its work. The organisation's trustees reflect the communities it serves, with two-thirds having direct experience of the asylum and refugee system. According to the charity, this ensures that programmes are designed around the realities facing participants rather than assumptions about their needs.
Kakembo
said the charity's vision extends beyond immediate support.
"Our
ambition is clear: to build a Scotland where asylum seekers, refugees, and
ethnic minority communities are not marginalised or isolated, but recognised as
valued members of society.
Our long-term vision is to develop sustainable, community-led projects that address both immediate hardship and longer-term integration, wellbeing, and empowerment. We want policymakers, funders, and the wider public to understand that the people we support are not defined by vulnerability. They are individuals with resilience, talent, ambitions, and enormous potential who are often navigating systems that can be extremely difficult and isolating."
The Togetherness Builds Wellbeing project is built around the idea that meaningful social connection develops over time rather than through one-off interventions. Over the next twelve months, participants will take part in regular group activities ranging from visits to museums and cultural attractions to football matches, concerts, seaside trips, community celebrations, and guided tours designed to help newcomers become familiar with Glasgow and other parts of Scotland. The project will also support participants travelling to locations such as Edinburgh, where many asylum seekers attend legal appointments and court hearings, helping to reduce barriers to participation and access to support.
Central to the programme is the belief that shared experiences create opportunities for relationships to flourish. Food and refreshments will therefore play an important role throughout the project, not simply as a service but as a means of bringing people together. Shared meals will provide opportunities for participants to exchange stories, celebrate different cultures, and build mutual understanding. Organisers hope that these regular gatherings will help establish trusted social networks capable of reducing loneliness and improving wellbeing over the long term.
The project has been informed by extensive consultation with community members. Surveys, questionnaires, and peer-led research carried out by the charity identified loneliness, social isolation, and limited access to cultural and recreational activities as some of the most common challenges experienced by participants. Unlike many traditional programmes, community members will help shape the activities themselves. Participants will be encouraged to propose events, share cultural traditions, contribute ideas, and help guide the development of the project throughout its delivery.
The initiative also aims to strengthen links between participants and local services, including healthcare providers, community organisations, and support agencies. By introducing people to services within trusted social settings, the charity hopes to make support more accessible and reduce barriers that often prevent individuals from seeking help. Community leaders have welcomed the funding as an investment not only in individual wellbeing but also in community cohesion.
At a time when public debate around migration can often become polarised, supporters of the project argue that bringing people together through shared experiences offers a practical way of building understanding between communities and challenging misconceptions. For Navigating Sanctuary Life, the funding represents an opportunity to demonstrate that integration is a two-way process built on participation, respect, and human connection.
As preparations begin for the launch of Togetherness Builds Wellbeing Early next month alongside the commonwealth games, the charity says its message remains simple: stronger communities are built when everyone can belong. The award was made possible through The National Lottery Community Fund, which distributes money raised by National Lottery players to projects that strengthen communities and improve lives across the United Kingdom.
Looking Ahead
Over the next twelve months, Togetherness Builds Wellbeing will provide a welcoming space where participants can build confidence, form meaningful friendships, strengthen community ties, and access support with dignity. Navigating Sanctuary Life extends its sincere thanks to The National Lottery Community Fund and to National Lottery players whose contributions make projects like this possible. Through Togetherness Builds Wellbeing, the charity hopes to demonstrate that when people are given opportunities to connect, participate, and belong, stronger and more resilient communities are created for everyone.
The work of our charity has only been possible with thanks and support from key funders including GCVS, Glasgow Wellbeing Fund, Corra Foundation and The National Lottery, alongside CEMVO, a central partner in helping the charity strengthen its community‑led approach.
