{"id":13195,"date":"2024-06-06T10:14:23","date_gmt":"2024-06-06T10:14:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/?p=13195"},"modified":"2024-06-06T13:57:37","modified_gmt":"2024-06-06T13:57:37","slug":"celebrating-community","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/2024\/06\/06\/celebrating-community\/","title":{"rendered":"Celebrating Community"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Winner of the Alumni and Supporter Volunteer of the Year Award, Tomson Chauke, tells CONNECTED about his story – including moving from Zimbabwe to Reading and why helping his community means so much to him.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"In a world where it can feel like we are more divided than ever, Tomson is on a mission to breakdown borders through the power of music, conversation and community. Having arrived in England as a refugee himself, Tomson knows the difference volunteers can make to a person\u2019s life.<\/p>\n

It was his own experience that inspired Tomson to start the charity, Sanctuary Strikers<\/a>, to support refugees in learning skills and making friends. He also uses his band, Limpopo Groove,<\/a> to start conversations about the importance of learning from different cultures.<\/p>\n

Read on to hear about Tomson\u2019s journey.<\/p>\n

A musical odyssey<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Tomson came to England in 2003 from Zimbabwe, having toured England previously with his former band. He said: \u201cEngland was a place I had been before and I always found the people to be accepting and accommodating.\u201d<\/p>\n

First living in Bristol, then Luton, it was news of the Reading Refugee Support Group<\/a> that drew Tomson to Reading. Tomson explained: \u201cWhen I came to England it wasn\u2019t easy to make friends. The Reading Refugee Support Group helped me a lot; they helped me settle in to England and gave me opportunities to volunteer with them \u2013 they became part of me. And twenty years later I\u2019m still here volunteering with them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tomson soon realised that his passion for music created another opportunity to meet people. He said: \u201cI started playing and doing drumming workshops around Reading which helped me form friendships. I then formed Limpopo Groove in 2009 with the purpose of connecting with people.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe name comes from the Limpopo River, which runs through many different countries\u2019 borders and pours into the Indian Ocean. It reminds me of what I want for our community. We all run through different borders and meet people from different cultures and backgrounds. In learning from each other we can all become more understanding, and work better together. The final destination is where all of our experiences pour out and create a place of understanding \u2013 like the Indian Ocean.\u201d<\/p>\n

Limpopo Groove \u2013 a group of five musicians – also helps create opportunities for children in Zimbabwe. Tomson explained: \u201cWe collect unwanted musical instruments and send them to children in Zimbabwe. I am very lucky to be from Zimbabwe and to be able to play a musical instrument.<\/p>\n

\n

“When I grew up there wasn\u2019t a single instrument available. There\u2019s talent in the country but there\u2019s no equipment, so giving children the opportunity to play music is a very special thing.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Tomson brought the campus to life for a second year in a row by bringing his workshop to the 2024 Community Festival<\/a>. He said: “It was wonderful to be part of the Community Festival for a second year now – to see people connecting through music is a wonderful thing.”\u00a0<\/p>\n

One Goal <\/strong><\/h4>\n

\"\"Tomson\u2019s passion to use conversation to bring people together inspired him to start Sanctuary Strikers. This is a football club, run in conjunction with Reading Refugee Support Group, with the aim of bringing refugees together and supporting them to become part of the Reading community. Tomson explained: \u201cMyself and others in my community arrived in England with our children who didn\u2019t have any friends here. So we invited other families to the park so our children could play together.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne day the kids were playing football and someone walking past asked if they were playing for a team and if they could sign them to an under 12\u2019s team \u2013 suddenly us adults were the ones left in the park doing nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tomson took inspiration from the children and saw that football was an opportunity for people to make new friends. He said:<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cI know firsthand how hard it can be to make a home in a foreign country when you don\u2019t know anyone or know where to get basic things \u2013 it can be very difficult and daunting.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

While volunteering at the Reading Refugee Support Group, Tomson stumbled across a project, Grow the Game<\/a>, run by the FA<\/a> (Football Association). He explained: \u201cThey were offering funding for teams to get started and I realised this was an opportunity I could use to not only help build a team, but to build a team that could help refugees.<\/p>\n

\u201cI applied for the funding and to my surprise it was granted! I went to Wembley to collect our uniforms and tracksuits and signed us up for the Sunday League.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"For Tomson, the team is more than just a platform for refugees to make friends \u2013 it also provides an opportunity to learn new skills and helps create the foundations needed to call somewhere home. Tomson explained: \u201cIt\u2019s difficult and frustrating to learn English in a classroom. The football club gives people the opportunity to practise speaking English outside of the classroom \u2013 learning through conversations and friendship in the team.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe also give people the opportunity to learn or improve their skills. They can come in and update our social media platforms, or volunteer to watch the kids, or help with the admin.<\/p>\n

\n

“We try to create opportunities for people to build a skillset that will help them settle into their new country.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cWe play all over Reading and that helps players to learn the bus routes and their surroundings which gives them confidence. It\u2019s little things like this that makes you think \u2018this is home\u2019. It has changed people\u2019s lives in lots of ways \u2013 some are now driving, they speak English and they\u2019ve made friends. It\u2019s the building blocks to make people feel part of a community.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"It was this continuous commitment to helping others in the community that won Tomson the Alumni and Supporter of the Year Award at the University of Reading\u2019s 2024 Celebration of Volunteering. On winning the award he said:<\/p>\n

\u201cI was ecstatic to hear I\u2019d won \u2013 if the University keeps celebrating people who are helping others, then that can inspire a whole community to help others too.\u201d<\/p>\n

Find out more about the Celebration of Volunteering Awards<\/a> \u00a0and our other winners. Or e-mail us at alumni@reading.ac.uk<\/a> if you\u2019re interested in volunteering with the University.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Winner of the Alumni and Supporter Volunteer of the Year Award, Tomson Chauke, tells CONNECTED about his story – including moving from Zimbabwe to Reading and why helping his community means so much to him. In a world where it can feel like we are more divided than ever, Tomson is on a mission to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":225,"featured_media":13196,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false},"categories":[5],"tags":[208,183,123,64,206,62,157,47],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nCelebrating Community - Connected<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Tomson Chauke, tells CONNECTED about his story - including moving from Zimbabwe to Reading and why helping his community means so much to him.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/2024\/06\/06\/celebrating-community\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Celebrating Community - 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