Loraine is an inspiring leader and campaigner for dignity and justice for refugees and migrants in the UK.
She was an asylum seeker for several years. Under the current UK Hostile Environment immigration legalisation (so named by the government), Loraine was not allowed to work, study, or access any welfare support. She was forced to live in government accommodation, run by a security firm, and got only £5 per day for food, toiletries, clothing, travel, and other needs. Like thousands of others, Loraine had no choice where she was sent to live, and she had no access to free legal advice. She only had minimal access to healthcare. Loraine won her case in August 2022. But all along, Loraine has been campaigning, speaking out, organising, and leading several organisations despite all these oppressive and hostile obstacles she faced.
Loraine was born in January 1974 in Malawi. While in secondary school (high school), Loraine dropped out of school to raise her only son, Comfort. She persevered despite the rife stigma she faced for being pregnant as a teen.
Loraine successfully completed her GCSE and was awarded a Certificate of Merit as the best student female category at Zingwangwa Secondary school. On their second attempt for university entrance exams, Loraine studied Bachelor of Science in Environmental Health at The University of Malawi-The Polytechnic Campus. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in environmental health, Loraine worked as a Lecturer at Malawi College of Health Science for five years, becoming a Senior Lecturer and Head of the Department. In 2005 Loraine represented Malawi in Japan in the African Youth Invitation programme.
Loraine secured a scholarship to study for a Master of Public Health at the University of Leeds, UK, in 2008 and completed her postgraduate degree with Merit. While studying at The University of Leeds, Loraine worked as a primary school teacher for the African Project at the Faculty of African Studies. Between 2009 and 2015, Loraine worked in supported living and palliative care as a Health Care Assistant.
Due to a change in her circumstances, she claimed asylum in 2015 and was moved to Coventry as part of the dispersal policy, where she became part of the Coventry Asylum and Refugee Action Group (CARAG).
Loraine is a trustee for Women for Refugee Women, providing a unique lived experience viewpoint to the Board of Trustees. She was also the chair of a grassroots self-help community of people in Coventry (CARAG), subjected to the hostile environment immigration policy in the UK.
Loraine and her community in Coventry were forced into destitution and homelessness. But she started organising, supporting people, and speaking out against the hostility. Loraine has chaired the group on a voluntary basis because she was not allowed to work as an asylum seeker. Loraine has become a voice of the voiceless and a spokesperson for migrant justice. Public Speaking has made her visible nationally, and CARAG has become a powerful grassroots self-help and campaigning community.
They organise support and advice as well as meals for each other. Her leadership of CARAG transformed it into a powerful grassroots organisation, with meaningful participation of people with the first-hand experience of the immigration system, truly reflecting needs and dreams and taking meaningful action to address both. They raised funding to rent houses for migrants and refugees facing homelessness during the pandemic.
She brought the group to prominence at national level and beyond.
Although when you claim asylum, you are not allowed to study, some universities enable asylum seekers to access certified courses. Loraine was part of the one-year-long Refugee Journalism project by the London College of Communication in 2018 and was awarded a certificate in attendance. Loraine also holds a certificate in Community Leadership from the University of Warwick through their community engagement project.
Because of community work by CARAG, Loraine has been recognised as ‘Everyday Hero’ by Coventry city of culture 2021.
Loraine is also a founding member of the Status 4 All network. Status Now 4 All campaigns for regularisation of status for everyone stuck in the system for years, everyone failed by the system and undocumented migrants.
Her resilience is inspiring and admirable, especially in the light of increased pressure on migrants and refugees in the UK.
In addition to speaking out and campaigning, Loraine works strategically in partnerships for structural change. She writes poetry to raise awareness about human suffering in the hostile system in this way. Loraine’s Poetry has been published in several anthologies, including Liquid Amber Press and Civic Leicester. Two of her poems have been accepted by Victoria Press for a September 2023 publication. Her debut Poetry book I Was Not Born a Sad Poet came out October 2022. The book gives a voice to refugees in UK.
She is always there to provide one-to-one support for individuals and act in solidarity. Her resilience is inspiring and admirable, especially in the light of increased pressure on migrants and refugees in the UK.
Loraine is a selfless, facilitative leader who always puts her community first despite all the challenges she experienced. She is an inspiring, resilient leader and deserves support, platforming, and recognition, and that is why I have nominated her for this award.
Loraine hopes to see the establishment of an immigration system based on dignity and justice for refugees and migrants as a part of the broader social justice in an equitable society.
Loraine’s career and leadership have been in the community sector and on a voluntary basis for many years. From June 2023 she now works as a Network Community Worker for a migration charity called Migrant Voice.
