From phrases like ‘Bob’s your uncle’ to ‘swings and roundabouts’, British English is full of sayings and expressions that appear to make little sense. But for refugees and asylum seekers arriving in the UK, learning English is key when trying to integrate into their new communities and navigate employment and education services.

From facing security threats to travelling via helicopter to reach remote communities, Nigerian photographers Etinosa Yvonne and KC Nwakalor detail their work behind a lens, capturing life in a conflict zone.

We've put together a bundle of resources to help schools create a welcoming environment for new students who are refugees and asylum seekers.

Why DO Brits talk about the weather so much? Saghar Khalid - who took part in the IRC's leadership course - braved the cold streets of London to get to the bottom of British culture… Aside from the rain, passers-by opened up about sarcasm, texting etiquette and saying sorry eight times a day. For refugees, adjusting to a completely new culture can be isolating.

Jafiada was six months pregnant when she and her husband had to flee armed conflict in northeast Nigeria in 2014.

Over 25 years ago, Sudan’s civil war uprooted 20,000 Sudanese children. They were known as the Lost Boys.

The IRC’s Healing Classrooms programme trains schools and educators on how to offer refugee and asylum-seeking children a safe place to learn and thrive after experiencing conflict and crisis. Teacher Suzanne travels between schools using the Healing Classrooms approach in her art lessons. She explains how this promotes healing and community through creative expression, helping students to process their emotions and celebrate their identities.

Our team’s ability to operate in communities across the country is rooted in their expertise and decades-long presence.

Launched in May 2022, the IRC’s Healing Classrooms approach helps schools and teachers to develop inclusive and nurturing environments where refugee and asylum seeking children can gain the necessary skills to reach their full potential. 

Philanthropy fuels the IRC’s work responding to emergencies and protracted crises in over 40 crisis-affected countries. We provide shelter, clean water, sanitation, healthcare, education, support for children and special aid for women in the top-ten most fragile states and the world’s most dangerous conflict zones. We stay in a region for as long as required to help revive livelihoods and support broken communities to rebuild. As one of the only organisations that works across the entire arc of crisis—from the warzones of Syria to resettling refugees in dozens of cities across Europe and the Americas—philanthropy helps us provide lifechanging support to millions of people whose lives have been disrupted by crisis. The IRC recognises that women and girls experience crises differently. As a feminist organisation, we put gender considerations at the heart of all our programmes. We also integrate our Climate Action Plan into programme design and outcomes. Helping global communities respond to changing climate now, by mapping hazards and developing early warning systems will save time, money and lives in the long-term.