Voices in Refuge back in Oxford!

The ViR Team returned to Oxford, to deliver another Community Interpreting course at Flo’s in collaboration with Equal Start Oxford.

Halima and Barbara made 4 long car journeys in November in December, but the enthusiasm, dedication and quick learning progress in participants made it all worth it (not to mention the delicious snacks and lunch offered during the course).

9 women – native speakers of Urdu, Punjabi, Kannada and Tetum – completed the course and all assessments, so we had a small graduation party on the last day of the course. The trainees have shown great interest and potential as interpreters, so we encouraged them to keep practising, volunteer and sign up as freelancers, to help migrant communities in and around Oxford, and beyond.

Congratulations to our graduating interpreters!

Here are a few more photos from the graduation celebration on the last day of the course:

One participant said: “[the course] increased my knowledge and I have learnt a lot of things and it’s increased my confidence.”

Another participant said: “Everything was excellent” and wished for more sessions!

We hope to come back to Oxford again in 2026, especially as we have secured funding to take VIR on tour across the UK. We will be reaching out to established and new partner organisations working with refugees, asylum seekers and migrants, to reach out to as many potential interpreters as possible.

More details about training dates and locations to be announced in early 2026. Watch this space!