The Roby has always relied on its volunteers to deliver the high quality services for which it is respected throughout Manchester. But this year it is proud to celebrate the achievements of Mike Mpofu, one of its counselling volunteers. Mike was invited to attend the Lord Mayor’s Reception on 25 November where his efforts won him the Supporting People’s Award for volunteering. Below, Mike charts his journey from asylum seeker to volunteering champion.

“I started at The Roby in 2007, as a volunteer on placement. My course required me to complete 100 hours of face-to-face counselling and The Roby was kind enough to give me this opportunity. I also volunteered at Oldham Bereavement Support Service to gain a diversity of experience. When I completed my 100 hours I applied to stay on at The Roby because I enjoyed the work. It is the kind of counselling I always wanted to do; most of the clients I see are from underprivileged backgrounds and are very vulnerable. This is especially true of asylum seekers and refugees.

The challenge

“Being an asylum seeker myself, I found the work challenging. My journey shared some of the same features as other asylum seekers and refugees who sought the services of the Roby. At first, I found it difficult, as most of the issues they brought up in the sessions resonated with my own experiences. Like them, I felt a culture shock, I missed home and the asylum process is so hard to cope with practically and emotionally. These issues were challenging in the sense that, as counsellors, we are limited in the type and extent of help we can offer asylum seekers and refugees. Sometimes, I felt the dilemma wanting to help and feeling my hands tied – I suspect many of my clients also felt their hands were tied. Early in 2008, I joined MRSN’s Health Advocacy Project which deals mostly with the practical aspects of meeting asylum seekers’ needs, e.g. for healthcare, accommodation, subsistence if they were destitute and more serious secondary health care. This role to some extent made me feel more useful and I find it rewarding.

“Over the past two years I have also volunteered at MRSN’s Forum Project, where I am also a steering committee member and at Body Positive Northwest, where I am a part-time helpline volunteer.

Proud to be recognised

“The 25^th November was a significant day for me, when my volunteering efforts were acknowledged as I was invited to the Lord Mayor’s Reception to receive the Supporting People’s Award. I felt, wow, here I am meeting all these important people. I felt proud that my efforts were recognized. A lot of my friends and colleagues also congratulated me, which means a lot to me.

“Volunteering can sound so selfless, but believe me keeping myself busy was very important to my survival through the asylum process. So I have got a lot out of volunteering, too. It has helped my confidence and, professionally, I have learned a range of helping skills from counselling to advocacy. So I want to say a big Thank you to The Roby and all my colleagues here especially those I have worked with closely.”

I have been a volunteer counsellor with The Roby for just over 5 years, working one day a week.

I volunteered intially, because I was an experienced counsellors, but had not worked in an inner city counselling organisation before.  I was attracted to the diversity of The Roby’s clients, and felt workign there would be a challenge to me, and hopefully develop my counselling skills even more.  I am fluent in Spanish and so in addition I hope to be able to use Spanish in my work.

I have not been disappointed!  Every day is different.  Besides offering a counselling service to the surrounding community, we have many clients who are asylum seekers.  I have received specialised training for this, including working with interpreters.  I have learnt a lot about the legal system and immigration, as well as being more aware of what is going on politically in the world.

The Roby is also a very friendly organisation, and we work well as a team.  There is always someone there to give information or support should I need it, besides a peer supervision group each month.

I hope to work for The Roby for many years to come.

Marion Grant
Volunteer Counsellor

We are busy preparing to relocate our Counselling Service from the Roby Church on Dickenson Road to new premises in Ardwick.

From the 2nd of November, you will need to attend counselling sesions at:

Roby Counselling Centre
Breakthrough UK Ltd
BEVC
Aked Close
Ardwick
Manchester
M12 4AN

Tel: 0161 273 4844

Until the 2nd of November all details remain the same.  A new map and directions will be available to download from the ‘contact us’ section on our website www.theroby.org.uk/contactus

The Roby is pleased that through our diverse counselling team we can offer person centred counselling in the following languages:

Do you have problems with your relationship or feel lonely and alone?  Do you suffer from depression, feel stressed and anxious?

The Women’s Group at The Roby will be run by two experienced female counsellors and offers a safe space to talk about yourself, your feelings and difficulties you may encounter in daily life.  This group is free and open to all women and will be held weekly on a Wednesday from 11am – 12.30pm and will run for 10 weeks.

If you are interested in this group please either email The Roby using info@theroby.org.uk or call us on 0161 257 2653.

If you work for a voluntary sector organisation, then please promote this service to your service users or make an enquiry yourself.

Welcome to the Roby Counselling Service Wordpress blog.

All information about the Roby Counselling Service can be found in the About Us section of the blog. The blog itself will be updated on a monthly basis, keeping you up-to-date with the service and all it has to offer.