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About us - What we do
The genesis of Da’aro Youth Project was a poignant period in 2017 and 2018 during which the London Eritrean community was deeply shaken by the suicides of several young people. These individuals, unaccompanied refugees and asylum seekers, bore the heavy burden of traumatic experiences both in their homelands and throughout their arduous journey to the UK. Upon arrival, they found themselves grappling with the challenges of settling in unfamiliar surroundings.
In the wake of these tragedies, the Eritrean community, with Dehab Woldu and Benny Hunter, recognised the urgent need for action, and mobilised members of the wider community to unite and establish the Da’aro Youth Project. This community-led initiative was born out of a shared commitment to address the unique challenges faced by young individuals arriving in the UK alone from the Horn of Africa, specifically Eritrea, Ethiopia, Sudan and Somalia.
In recent years, Eritreans and Ethiopians combined have constituted the largest nationality group of unaccompanied minors arriving in the UK, with Sudanese minors being the largest in 2020. These young asylum-seekers and refugees undertake perilous journeys through the Sahara Desert, Libya, and the Mediterranean Sea, as well as navigating borders in Europe, including Calais. Upon arrival, they face numerous challenges, such as adapting to life without their families, navigating a complex asylum system that can be stressful and traumatic, and encountering social isolation, discrimination, and hostility.
Our primary goal is to promote the well-being of these migrant young people living in the UK. We achieve this by providing direct support, fostering connections within the Eritrean and wider East African communities, and advocating for changes to unfair and discriminatory systems which undermine their well-being. We firmly believe that building sustainable relationships of trust and support within these communities is the most effective way to empower these young individuals and help them overcome marginalisation within society.
