Our Team

Director

After working for the British Council, Anna joined Gatwick Detainees Welfare Group as a volunteer visitor, staff member and became Director in 2019. Anna is a founder of Refugee Tales and co-editor of the Refugee Tales anthologies published by Comma Press and was the founder of Refugees Welcome - Crawley.

anna@gdwg.org.uk

Operations Manager

Lara joined GDWG in February of 2024. Previously, Lara trained to be a professional dancer and has run dance and music based community engagement workshops working with displaced people, neurodivergent adults, women’s groups and children. Lara has loved engaging with communities through various artistic mediums.

Lara has a Masters from SOAS in Migration and Diaspora Studies and has undergone volunteering with migrant and refugee organisations such as: The Launchpad Collective, Refugee Community Kitchen, The Migration Connection Festival and the South London Refugee Association. Lara is passionate about supporting the Refugee Tales community by facilitating the sharing of experiences and telling of stories.

lara@gdwg.org.uk

Advocacy Coordinator

Hannah joined the GDWG team in January 2022. Previously, she was the Student Network Organiser at Student Action for Refugees (STAR), supporting student leaders to make the UK a more welcoming place for people seeking safety.

Hannah has loved volunteering with a number of different charities, from her time as a STAR leader in Nottingham, to supporting students’ confidence reading and writing at Literacy Pirates, to working in an ‘intercultural maker space’ for refugees at Habibi.Works in Greece.

hannah@gdwg.org.uk

Advocacy Coordinator

Kasonga joined the team in February 2020. He has both refugee background and lived experience of immigration detention in the UK.

Due to his counselling skills he uses active listening and a person-centred approach when it comes to supporting people both inside and outside detention.

Kasonga is also a senior member of the experts-by-experience group, Freed Voices and he has been heavily involved with the group since 2016.

kasonga@gdwg.org.uk

Systems Design Officer

Jonny joined the staff team after having walked with Refugee Tales. He has a Masters in Climate Physics from the University of Utrecht and an interest in how a warming climate will impact the migration of people. He is currently developing data management processes for GDWG. 

jonny@gdwg.org.uk

Senior Advocacy Coordinator

Karris joined the GDWG team in February 2019. Prior to this Karris had worked as a support worker in a mental health supported accommodation and at an HIV advocacy charity.

Karris has volunteered with migrants, refugees and people seeking asylum for around 5 years, with a number of organisations including; the British Red Cross, L’Auberge des Migrants and SOAS Detainee Support, as a volunteer visitor.

karris@gdwg.org.uk

Administrator

Marygold started work as GDWG’s administrator in October 2017. Prior to this, Marygold volunteered with the service for two years, assisting with office support and visiting people in detention.

Marygold has travelled and worked in approximately 68 countries throughout her career. This has included work with the UN in Somalia and Niger, as well as independently in Senegal, the West Indies and the UK as a librarian, documentalist and records manager.

marygold@gdwg.org.uk

Advocacy Coordinator

Nasima started working with GDWG in March 2023. Nasima worked with NGO’s in Afghanistan and as a university lecturer in HR, Leadership and Communications in Afghanistan. She was an Enrolment Officer at Westminster Kingsway College and worked at the British Embassy in Afghanistan as an HR Officer.

nasima@gdwg.org.uk

Friends and Fundraising Co-ordinator

Anna joined the GDWG team in October 2024. Previously, she worked as a Commissioning and Transformation Lead at Kensington and Chelsea and Westminster City Councils, where she coordinated wrap-around support for refugees and asylum seekers placed in Central London hotels. 

Anna has worked with several charities, including Freedom of Mind and Southern Voices, focusing on diversifying mental health support and educational resources. She is passionate about the importance of spotlighting lived experiences and wrote her undergraduate dissertation on the ‘Refugee Tales’ anthologies.

aseifu@gdwg.org.uk

Self-Advocacy Co-ordinator

Ridy is a boxing coach who runs his own gym called Base Boxing, using boxing to inspire young people in his community. He was formerly detained and as an expert by experience he has worked with Refugee Tales for nine years. He is a writer, photographer, video editor and filmmaker, and made the films for the Refugee Tales Walking Inquiry. He is currently the Co-ordinator of the GDWG Self-Advocacy Group. 

Ridy@gdwg.org.uk