Help take Afrocats to the awards!

We are delighted that Magdalen Barlett, CEO and founder of Afrocats has been shortlisted for the Dianne Oxberry Special Impact Award. The award recognises someone who has faced adversity and won and by doing so, has left a lasting legacy across the region.

It will be awarded to someone who had to work hard to achieve their goal, against all odds and through sheer graft and grit and as a result, has made a difference.

We believe that Magdalen embodies Dianne’s DNA through her work empowering refugees and asylum seekers throughout Greater Manchester, where she ensures they have access to creative and wellbeing support.

Magdalen’s boundless energy and passion for Manchester and the refugee community who call this city home is evident in her impact which stretches all over the city from projects in Bolton to Longsight, Rochdale to Gorton and of course the city centre, and she covers substantial ground in getting asylum seekers and refugees the help they need despite the hostile environment they often face.

Magdalen has had an outstanding positive influence on people in the northwest, particularly those facing barriers due to immigration status, age, class, cultural inexperience, and lack of education. After arriving from Barbados as a pre-teen with her family in the late 1980s and winning her right to stay in the UK, she studied dance and drama to harness her creative talents as a force for good to help marginalised communities desperately needing creative outlets, and she has sown seeds of care and compassion to raise awareness for asylum seekers and enhance their lives through creativity, improving both their physical and mental health, and fostering community solidarity ever since.

Now we need your help.

To get Magdalen and people who benefit from her work to the awards we need to raise £2,500. This will enable Magdalen to bring 9 people seeking asylum to the prestigious This Is Manchester Awards and join her when we hopefully celebrate her win.

Can you make a donation to help us get there?