Our team

                                                    Mary Thomas is a founder member of Pendle New Neighbours which was formed in 2017 when the first Syrian Refugee families arrived in Pendle. Mary has worked in the charity sector for almost 30 years for Age Concern England where she worked in research into healthy ageing and new roles of volunteering. She also worked in advising and helping local Age Concern Groups develop Active Ageing activities and Active Ageing Volunteers.

Mary served as a Magistrate for over 20 years and sat on HMG’s Voluntary & Community Honours Committee for 10 years. She was a Tribunal Chair for the Nursing and Midwifery Council in their Fitness to Practice Division. Mary is currently the Chair of Colne Town Council.

                                                      Paul is a founder member of PNN and is the charity’s Treasurer. He is responsible for a lot of the backroom work including managing the service level agreements; raising and managing the money; and managing the staff payroll.

He has spent more than 30 years working in the voluntary sector for charities that include the NSPCC, Samaritans, the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation and two hospices. Since retiring, he volunteers for PNN, the St. Vincent de Paul Society, and is Chair of Governors at Ss John Fisher & Thomas More RC Secondary School.

Paul is driven by his belief that asylum seekers and refugees are our sisters and brothers, members of one human family.

Secretary

Christine Wren is a founder member of Pendle New Neighbours. She was born and brought up in Pendle.

As a retired secondary school teacher, she has had much experience of working with families across a variety of different ethnicities, cultures and faiths.

Since the first ten families of Syrian refugees arrived in Pendle on the 29th of September 2016 she has sought to befriend, support and encourage their integration into our local community. She feels that, as we now have many more refugees and asylum seeker in Pendle, it is even more necessary to fulfil our aims as a facilitating charity.

She is Pendle New Neighbours’ representative on the Community Cohesion Action Network, and regularly attends Pendle Displaced Persons Resettlement Group.

Howard first became involved with refugees and asylum seekers in the early 2000s when a large group were dispersed to Nelson by the Home Office. There were many different nationalities, but interestingly, they all had similar stories to tell of war and persecution by governments.

In 2016, when the first tranche of Syrians arrived, Howard was among the first to be involved in what became Pendle New Neighbours and has been involved since then.

Howard strongly believes that we have a moral duty to defend human rights.
In addition to PNN, he is a member of Colne Town Council, a Trustee of Burnley Pendle & Rossendale CVS, and the Peter Birtwistle Trust.

As a refugee from Ukraine, Vitalii deeply understands the challenges people face when they are in need of help and support. This experience has inspired him to become involved with Pendle New Neighbours (PNN), an organisation that shares his passion for helping others. Vitalii believes in the PNN mission of supporting refugees and newcomers. As an architect, he brings creativity skills to his role, which complement the four years of experience in organising and participating in various charity events in his native country.

Vitalii’s goal is to continue making a positive impact, combining his skills and compassion to support those in need.

Hassan is a native Arabic speaker and has lived in the UK for over 40 years . He has direct experience of arriving in the UK as an immigrant , which makes him well placed to understand the many challenges newcomers to UK face.

Hassan joined Pendle New Neighbours more than five years ago as Senior Support Adviser to asylum seekers and refugees . He says that it is a challenging roll as he meets a range of different cases, always trying to get the best outcome for the client. He enjoys the role very much, especially when the results of his efforts are in favour of the client.

Olha has been working for Pendle New Neighbours for two years and says that it’s a pleasure for her, because every day she is given the opportunity to assist people with the diverse issues they encounter while navigating the challenging journey of adapting to life in a new country.
Olha’s job as a member of the office team involves resolving problems related to immigrants.

Olha says that she will always remember how she felt when she came to the UK for the first time, feeling confused and uncertain about what she should do.

Samer came to the United Kingdom as a refugee, after enduring four years in Lebanon as a refugee. He says that “this journey has deeply shaped me, instilling a profound empathy for the struggles and stories of refugees. I continue to see myself as one of them, carrying their resilience and spirit within me.”

Samer believes that he can bring out the best of his experience in volunteering to support those seeking refuge and safety. The most essential offering is understanding—the ability to truly listen to their challenges, extend compassion, and instil a sense of safety and reassurance.

On Samer’s arrival in Nelson he dedicated a year to volunteering with Calico as a Support Worker, gaining valuable insights into the workings of the UK’s Government support systems. He has also volunteered for Building Bridges and for Nelson Community Masjid.

In the short time that he has been with Pendle New Neighbours he says that he “sees a truly remarkable family — a warm and caring community where members and visitors alike find love, unity, and belonging.”