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Winter Fundraising Appeal 2024
Help reunite families like Kidisti's this festive season
Donate today to provide vital legal support to help people find safety and reunite with loved ones.
For most of us, December is a season of joy – filled with family, warmth and love. But for many others, it’s a painful reminder of those who are missing.
People fleeing persecution, conflict and violence have often endured unimaginable hardship. They’re forced to embark on dangerous journeys, leaving behind their homes, communities, and families in an attempt to find safety.
When starting a new life, the presence of family is essential.
However, thanks to the chaos of fleeing home and inhumane legal systems, many are left alone, with loved ones stuck in danger, thousands of miles away.
Legal support is often the only thing that can bring families back together.
To continue reuniting loved ones in 2025, we need to raise £10,000. Donate today to help us reach our goal.
So far we have raised £755 towards our £10,000 target! That‘s 8% of the total!
The devastating effects of family separation
Family separation devastates and endangers lives.
Safe, legal and accessible routes to the UK are extremely restrictive. Combined with long waiting times and a huge backlog of family reunion cases in the Home Office, people are pushed to take dangerous journeys in an attempt to reach their loved ones.
Children are particularly vulnerable. Thousands of unaccompanied minors apply for asylum every year. With routes to the UK almost non-existent, many minors embark on the treacherous route across the Channel in small boats. They shouldn’t have to risk their lives just to find safety and feel the support of their loved ones.
For people who have already endured so much, the long wait for answers from the Home Office can worsen existing trauma and leave people in limbo.
Kidisti’s journey to reunite with her daughter
The strength and determination shown by our client, Kidisti, whilst trying to reunite with her daughter, Asmeret, is inspiring. But no mother should be forced to face such challenges.
Born in Eritrea, Kidisti faced a tumultuous childhood, moving between countries several times with her father. At 19, she gave birth to her daughter, Asmeret, in Sudan. Due to circumstances out of her control, she was forced to leave Sudan and move to Beirut. She was unable to take Asmeret with her, and had to leave her in the care of a family friend.
After a long and traumatic journey spanning several countries, Kidisti made it to Greece. She stayed here for four years, however, she couldn’t bring Asmeret over to join her.
Kidisti made the brave decision to leave her home and community once again, and travel to the UK, hoping to one day be reunited with her eldest daughter.
She came to RLS in 2021 for support. At this point, it had been over 5 years since Kidisti had last seen her daughter.
How we help to bring families back together
Bringing families back together is at the core of what we do.
We’re one of the few organisations providing support to families who have been separated.
Our legal teams specialise in:
- Legal support to help reuniting refugees in the UK with their loved ones
- Support to help reunite families torn apart by the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan
- Helping families to gain asylum and find stability to build their new lives in Greece
- Providing essential legal support to people on the move
Legal support is often the only way to reunite families and help people on the move start rebuilding their lives.
As a grassroots organisation, we rely on the help of our friends and supporters to provide this vital service. To continue in 2025, we need to raise £10,000.
RLS lawyers gave Kidisti the support to keep going
Family reunion cases are complex, and often rely on exceptional circumstances. It’s very difficult for these cases to succeed without legal support.
RLS lawyers had to help Kidisti prove that she was Asmeret’s mother. She had to recount her reasons for leaving Asmeret, and retell her journey to Greece and later the UK. It can be incredibly difficult to relive these experiences, especially if someone has been through significant trauma.
RLS lawyers also had to show that Kidisti had no other option but to leave Asmeret when she was so young, and they had to provide DNA evidence, family photos, and call records.
Kidisti’s case faced further complications and delays when Asmeret was unable to obtain an exit visa to come to the UK.
Throughout this process, Kidisti explained that on the days she was struggling, Ellie (the RLS lawyer working on her case) provided the moral support she needed to keep going.
Reunited at last
Eventually, Kidisti’s dream of seeing her daughter again came true. RLS lawyers were successful in bringing her daughter to the UK in July 2024, three years after Kidisti first came to RLS for help. When talking about the day Asmeret arrived, Kidisti said she was “so happy to be reunited after so many years.”
Without legal support, it’s unlikely that Kidisti’s case would’ve been successful, and her family may still be separated.
How you can help families like Kidisti's
If you’re able to, please donate to our Winter appeal. Every donation helps to reunite families like Kidisti’s, and offer hope to people seeking safety.
Just £25 could pay for somebody to receive essential information about their legal rights.
Thank you,
Flora and the RLS Team