REFUGEES from all over the world are helped daily by local charity Harbour Project and with the holidays quickly approaching, the group has launched its Christmas Appeal, in association with the Grow Your Tenner scheme.

For every 10 pounds donated to the charity, localgiving.org will match the donation.

Harbour Project Chairman David Rowlands said: “We want our Christmas Appeal to make a real difference.

“The people arriving at our door have so many complex needs, we’re really being stretched to the limit just to provide the basic support needed.”

A short film illustrating to vital services offered to refugees and asylum seekers was released earlier this week with testaments to the life-changing influence they’ve had on often vulnerable people throughout the six-minute video.

The organisation helps more than 350 people a year from over 40 different countries, with an estimated 60 people coming in daily with services ranging from things as basic as making a phone call to helping with legal paperwork and providing English classes.

In the video, Harbour Project Manager Nan Bains said: “People who arrive here have fled war and persecution, and often it’s single people who have no family and they don’t know anybody in the town.

“So we welcome people when they first arrive at our doorstep, offer them a cup of tea or coffee and then we are able to welcome them to the town.

We offer them English classes and a whole range of courses and activities which will help them settle into Swindon.

“I think the most rewarding part of this job is that you can actually see 100 percent of the difference it makes to people’s lives.”

The film was produced by Marilyn Fitzgerald with Create Studios, who expressed her pride in working with the project.

She said: “It’s really heart-warming to hear about their stories – they’re quite shocking.

“The end result of the interview is that they love Swindon and they’re thankful for the Harbour Project.”

The positive impact is evident based in the joy seen throughout the video of those helped by the staff and volunteers.

One woman interviewed in the video said: “Harbour is based on love. It’s based on mercy. It is based on giving you all they can, making you live beyond your dreams because they make me live beyond my dreams. It’s opened every door for me. I feel like a queen.”

The Harbour Project’s Grow Your Tenner scheme will just last through the week. Those wishing to donate can do so on the organisation’s site at https://localgiving.org/charity/harbourproject/.

To watch the video go to: www.harbourproject.org.uk