Newcastle University

Jayne Butler, who is in her final year of a part-time MA in International Politics (Global Justice and Ethics), runs The Comfrey Project, a Tyneside-based scheme that brings asylum seekers and refugees together to enjoy a shared love of gardening.

By encouraging local people and refugees to work alongside each other on local allotments, the charity is breaking down barriers and helping people to understand each other, while also improving their health and wellbeing.

“It’s a safe space for people to be and that’s the most important aspect,” said Jayne. “But when I picked up the award I said how it made me really sad to acknowledge that the kind of space we offer is still needed because the people we help cannot find it in the wider society.

“So really the award is not something to celebrate, and nothing would make me happier than to know that my role was no longer needed.”

Jayne feels that one of the real issues is that sufficient groundwork needed to integrate people was not carried out ten years ago, when asylum seekers first came to the North East.

“If we had all been doing what we’re doing now back then I don’t think we’d have the problems we face now where we're spending a lot of time fire-fighting, slowing down the progress towards better integration,” she said.

Working for VSO (Voluntary Services Overseas) in 2007 originally inspired Jayne on her current career path, after graduating from Newcastle University with a BSc in Mathematics.

“When I came back from Sierra Leone I was really focused on what I wanted to do as a career and I liked the idea of a new challenge,” she said. “Balancing work alongside further study is a lot of work but the degree complements my work really well, especially in terms of human rights, so I know I made the right choice.”

The project is funded until March 2011, and Jayne is currently considering expanding the service into Sunderland and Teesside.

“This award is really what you decide to make of it,” she added. “It has already opened more doors for us, and now it’s a matter of how we push that forward.”

The Comfrey Project was one of five winners nationally in the recent Guardian Charity Awards 2009 and was selected from almost 500 entrants. The prize was £1,000, a computer and free consultancy advice.