Our organisation has been successful in working with two major partners to look at health and refugees in the UK:

As part of a research programme at the University of Chester and Cumbria we have completed two short films (funded by the universities) looking at the health experiences of refugees in the UK (these are available on our YouTube website SARELI.UK)

A project with the Primary Care Trust in Salford that has demonstrated the need for independent advocacy, support advice and guidance for African Refugees using local health care and other support services. This project funded through the Home Office demonstrated that:

• Women and Youth leaving care in the community are unaware of the services and support that are available

• There are a range of illnesses within the communities which are unfamiliar to local GPs and although recognised by the individuals in the community there is confusion about treatment

• HIV remains a secretive illness which many are unwilling to discuss or seek information or support for

• There is little accurate knowledge in our communities about UK health services

During the short project with the PCT SARELI-UK offered some limited advice, information and drop-in sessions which allowed us to gather information about needs as well as provide independent support and help to members of our community. Community members have asked if we can begin to offer this support regularly and help them understand and get the support they need.

SARELI is positively overcoming the poor access to and use of health and other services by our communities. SARELI-UK works with African exiles and refugees from across the non-English speaking countries of Africa. There are many nationalities with many different experiences of using health services and health care – many do not understand the UK system, do not use services they should and are afraid of accessing and using other services like HIV, glycemic (diabetes), Obesity and overweigh, Sickle cell, mental health… services. Additionally, many women and Youth leaving care are unaware of which services to use, or what services to expect from a General Practioner. Many feel that their illnesses are not understood or that the doctors miss important information about their illness.

SARELI Health project has improved community’s member knowledge, Skill and experience

Our community is getting support and information (in a way that makes sense to them) about the health service and other support services.

SARELI Health project is allow communities members who are afraid, embarrassed or unsure about what they need one to support and support into services where it is needed.

Mental Health

As community’s members we want each member of our community and of any others community to be the first responsible of his own health and wellbeing without filling low or inferior or useless comparatively to others around him, we should know that all we are different is the reality of the world, this difference may explain the wealth of diversity and the wealth and beauty of society we live in.

Each member need to take care of his own wellness and life challenge, it will boost personal and community

Also all of us individually need to feel supported by our family, our friends, our colleagues, ours community our neighbours and our society to prevent the various consequences of exclusion, of Isolation, of loneliness of discrimination. Furthermore live well will prevent people from mental health illness and it will reduce the stress, paranoid schizophrenia, low mood, depression, anxiety, community’s members will be more active and more independent and more participative it will also reduce the medical and care cost.

Inequality has been part of the problem so our community report (from our previous project that been funded by little Pot of Health and innovation fund) and its implementation cannot be left to the professionals but must be owned by everyone with a stake in improving wellbeing in our communities. The Salford Living Well Collaborative has made a great start in involving service users and carers in commissioning and delivery of mental health services but we need to go much further.

With cooperation we can reduce abuse and neglect, poverty and inequality; we can improve education, employment and a sense of community; and if we succeed, fewer of our residents, of whatever colour will suffer like Sean Rigg (Death of Sean Rigg. Sean Rigg was a 40-year-old black British musician and music producer who suffered from paranoid schizophrenia. He died following a cardiac arrest on 21 August 2008 while in police custody at the entrance to Brixton police station, South London, England. ) and so many others have done in the past.

Sickle cell

What Is Sickle Cell Disease?

Description: Description: An image that shows the difference between a normal red blood cell verses a sickle cell with abnormal (sickle) haemoglobin.

Now SARELI can be proud about the recent Sickle cell project success we carryon, that was funded by LPOH Innovation fund, because more community’s members now are aware about Sickle cell disease, how

to prevent It? How to live with it? How to treat it? And which Support services appropriated to be use in case of Sickle cell.

Since 2005 when SARELI UK was set up we are challenging many issue include mainly community wellness we have realise the vast transformative power of skill and knowledge to shape communities and deliver good social value,

SARELI is hardly working to empowered progressively African Refugees community, In particular: women and Youth leaving care who are more disadvantaged in various aspect of their life.

The term sickle cell disease (SCD) describes a group of inherited red blood cell disorders. People with SCD have abnormal hemoglobin, called hemoglobin S or sickle hemoglobin, in their red blood cells.

Hemoglobin is a protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen throughout the body.

“Inherited” means that the disease is passed by genes from parents to their children. SCD is not contagious. A person cannot catch it, like a cold or infection, from someone else.

People who have SCD inherit two abnormal hemoglobin genes, one from each parent. In all forms of SCD, at least one of the two abnormal genes causes a person’s body to make hemoglobin S. When a person has two hemoglobin S genes, Hemoglobin SS, the disease is called sickle cell anemia. This is the most common and often most severe kind of SCD.

Hemoglobin SC disease and hemoglobin Sβ thalassemia (thal-uh-SEE-me-uh) are two other common forms of SCD.

Some Forms of Sickle Cell Disease

• Hemoglobin SS

• Hemoglobin SC

• Hemoglobin Sβ0 thalassemia

• Hemoglobin Sβ+ thalassemia

• Hemoglobin SD

• Hemoglobin SE

Overview

Cells in tissues need a steady supply of oxygen to work well. Normally, hemoglobin in red blood cells takes up oxygen in the lungs and carries it to all the tissues of the body.

Red blood cells that contain normal hemoglobin are disc shaped (like a doughnut without a hole). This shape allows the cells to be flexible so that they can move through large and small blood vessels to deliver oxygen.

Sickle hemoglobin is not like normal hemoglobin. It can form stiff rods within the red cell, changing it into a crescent, or sickle shape.

Sickle-shaped cells are not flexible and can stick to vessel walls, causing a blockage that slows or stops the flow of blood. When this happens, oxygen can’t reach nearby tissues.

Normal Red Cells and Sickle Red Cells

Figure A shows normal red blood cells flowing freely in a blood vessel. The inset image shows a cross-section of a normal red blood cell with normal hemoglobin. Figure B shows abnormal, sickled red blood cells blocking blood flow in a blood vessel. The inset image shows a cross-section of a sickle cell with abnormal (sickle) hemoglobin forming abnormal stiff rods.

The lack of tissue oxygen can cause attacks of sudden, severe pain, called pain crises. These pain attacks can occur without warning, and a person often needs to go to the hospital for effective treatment.

Most children with SCD are pain free between painful crises, but adolescents and adults may also suffer with chronic ongoing pain.