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How We Work
In November 2025, a roundtable hosted at SOAS University of London (SOAS) brought
diverse organisations together to identify innovative approaches to support children and young people within the asylum system. The aim was to strengthen collaboration between these organisations and collectively build capacity to sustain and scale support available to young people. The roundtable involved different stakeholders, including charities, academics, local authorities and statutory service providers Funded by the SOAS Impact Accelerator Award, the symposium was co-led by Dr Mikal Woldu, research associate at SOAS and Da’aro Youth Project (DYP), the partner organisation for the project.
The work and approach of DYP was provided as a foundation for discussing how each
organisation addressed these support needs. There are five core principles underpinning
Da’aro Youth Project:
DYP adopts a strength-based youth-centred approach, where young people actively
shape the services being provided by indicating their evolving needs. The support
provided moves beyond crisis-response, by building confidence and opportunities for
professional development as they get more settled in British society.
The services provided by DYP are interconnected and cater to the different needs that
young people express across different stages of their settlement in the UK. These
include youth clubs, casework support and mentoring services.
DYP remains strongly committed to remaining embedded within the communities it
serves. This is reflected in the racially and ethnically diverse make-up of the
volunteers supporting the youth clubs, the well-attended annual community events,
and the diverse range of support provided by members of the African diaspora in
London.
DYP is actively engaged in campaign and policy work, alongside partnering
organisations, to tackle the systemic barriers faced by the young people they serve.
DYP adopts a dialogic approach involving collaboration with other organisations
working in the field to share practice and ideas and combine resources for advocacy
and change.
This handbook is intended for professionals working with young people seeking asylum and aims to provide an overview of some of the key challenges affecting their wellbeing. It is not designed to offer a comprehensive account of all the difficulties these young people face, nor does it provide an exhaustive guide to the support services available to them across London. Instead, the handbook serves as an accessible resource that presents a clear and concise summary of the main challenges experienced by young people seeking asylum, highlights how DYP and the partner organisations involved in the roundtable are addressing these issues, and signposts relevant resources and support available through other partner organisations.
Download Building Bridges with Da'aro Youth Project handbook clicking on the image below:
