Kehinde was 13 when she came to the UK where she experienced modern slavery. Despite the difficulties, she thrived academically, achieving A-levels in biology, chemistry, French and Maths, and dreamed of studying biomedical science at university.

But she had no idea how she would fulfil her goal because as an asylum seeker she needed to pay international tuition fees, but was not allowed to work. For 10 years she lived in a state of limbo, unable to work and therefore unable to study. "I just kept myself busy doing a lot of voluntary work. I got involved with my church, tutoring students in English, maths and science. It was very helpful because it kept me in a kind of education system," Kehinde said.

When she was 28, Kehinde found out about a fully-funded access course in London which was open to refugees and asylum seekers. It was there that she found out about Royal Holloway’s Sanctuary Scholarship. The scholarship promotes access to Higher Education for students who have fled persecution and sought asylum in the UK.

Kehinde applied to study Biomedical Sciences and was delighted when she found out she would be able to take up her place after being awarded the Sanctuary Scholarship. “When I got the email saying I had got the scholarship, I cried,” she said. “When new opportunities are opened for you after so many years of waiting and not being believed, I didn’t know any words to say so I just cried.”

After 13 years of fighting to be recognised as an asylum seeker, Kehinde graduated with a first-class honours degree and was able to apply for a job. She first worked as a laboratory technician before having a baby and then joining a charity which supports people affected by modern slavery and human trafficking. Kehinde also advocates for survivors and is a lived experience expert.

She said: "The opportunity to work allowed me the ability to earn and contribute to my family. I'm proud of the work that we do and the research that helps us understand the various aspects of human trafficking and how best to support communities to find a voice.”

Kehinde is currently looking to start a Master's degree in blood sciences and ultimately specialising in respiratory and cardiovascular healthcare.

Kehinde has taken up the opportunity to become our first 'Sanctuary Ambassador' and will continue to work with the Philanthropy team on their ongoing endeavours to support displaced students and colleagues by drawing on her own lived experience.

Yasir shared their experiences as a Sanctuary Scholar at Royal Holloway:

"Receiving the Sanctuary Scholarship has been a transformative experience for me, and I am truly grateful to the donor for their generosity. The scholarship has significantly alleviated the financial burden that comes with pursuing higher education, allowing me to focus more on my studies without the stress of financial constraints. It has enabled me to access essential study materials, attend lectures, attend seminars, and participate in workshops that have enriched my academic journey. Additionally, the support has allowed me to engage in extracurricular activities that have helped me grow both personally and professionally. The scholarship has been more than just financial support; it has been a source of motivation and a reminder that there are people who believe in my potential and my future.

Over the past year, my focus has been on advancing my understanding of digital business, and I am pleased to share that my studies have been going exceptionally well. I am currently pursuing an MSc in Digital Business, where I have been delving into topics such as digital transformation, data analytics, Business Intelligence, and cloud computing. The program has been intellectually stimulating and has provided me with the skills to understand the rapidly evolving digital landscape. I have been involved in several group projects and case studies that have allowed me to apply theoretical knowledge to real-world scenarios, such as developing a digital strategy for a running business. These experiences have been invaluable in sharpening my analytical and problem-solving skills. Additionally, I have taken advantage of networking opportunities with industry professionals, which has expanded my understanding of how digital technologies are reshaping businesses globally.

Looking to the future, I am excited about the opportunities that lie ahead. Upon completing my MSc in Digital Business, I plan to pursue a career as an Oracle Apps Database Administrator (DBA). I am particularly interested in working with organizations that leverage Oracle applications to drive digital transformation and optimize their business processes. My studies have provided me with a strong foundation in digital business and data management, which I believe will be invaluable in this role. At the same time, I am also considering continuing my education and pursuing a PhD at the Royal Holloway University of London. I am passionate about exploring advanced research in digital transformation and data analytics, and I believe a PhD would allow me to contribute to the academic community while deepening my expertise. The Sanctuary Scholarship has empowered me to aim high and has given me the confidence to explore these dual pathways. I am sincerely grateful for this support and am committed to making a meaningful impact in my future endeavours."

Alpana shared their experiences as a Sanctuary Scholar at Royal Holloway:

"I was recently awarded this scholarship, and it has had a profound impact on my life, enabling me to continue my education and pursue my dreams despite the significant challenges I have faced as a single mother asylum seeker in the UK. Your generosity has been life-changing, allowing me to embark on an educational journey that will shape my future in ways I once thought impossible. 

As a victim of persecution in my home country, Bangladesh, I had to leave everything behind and seek refuge in a foreign land. My journey to safety has not been easy, and I have faced numerous challenges along the way. In addition to the religious persecution in Bangladesh, I also feared for my safety due to the lack of adequate protection against minority gender-based violence in Bangladesh.

I grew up in a Bengali Hindu family in Bangladesh. I started learning Kathak dance in parallel with my academic studies. I have always approached my studies with the same level of dedication and discipline as I do with my music and dance. I grew up participating in school plays, dance competitions, and theatre productions, which further fostered my love for the performing arts. I was thrilled to be recognized for my hard work and dedication and was awarded a dance competition by the Prime Minister of Bangladesh. My future ambition in life is to become a good and elegant Performer, skilful dance choreographer and theatre artist for that reason I am interested in pursuing further studies in ‘BA Drama and Theatre Studies’. I am passionate about my chosen field of study and eager to contribute to the academic community at Royal Holloway University of London.

This scholarship has not only relieved the financial burden of my education but also provided me with invaluable opportunities to excel academically and personally. Growing up in Bangladesh, I witnessed first-hand the struggles faced by marginalized communities, including limited access to education. These experiences fuelled my passion to create positive change, and I am now able to work towards that goal thanks to your support. I am currently pursuing an undergraduate degree in Drama and Theatre Studies—fields I am passionate about and that I believe can open many doors for me in today’s cultural landscape. 

The road to this point has been far from easy. My childhood in Bangladesh was marked by hardship, with limited access to education and the constant challenge of supporting my family in an unstable environment. I became an advocate for the rights and safety of my community, working with charities to raise awareness and provide for those in need. However, when my own life was endangered, I made the difficult decision to seek asylum in the UK. The Sanctuary Scholarship has given me the opportunity to rebuild my life, focus on my studies, and pursue a career I am truly passionate about. 

This scholarship has given me the chance to pursue my degree and develop the skills I need to achieve my goals. I am moving forward with optimism and determination, and I know that the opportunities this scholarship has provided will help me make a meaningful impact in my community and beyond. I am sincerely grateful for your belief in the transformative power of education and for supporting individuals like me who are striving to overcome adversity.

I hope that my story serves as a reminder of the incredible difference supporters are making, not just in my life, but in the lives of many others facing similar challenges. Your dedication to the Sanctuary Scholarship is a beacon of hope for asylum seekers who dream of a brighter future through education. I am deeply appreciative of your support and commitment, and I thank you for helping me on this journey. The opportunities and experiences you have made possible will stay with me for a lifetime."

Nifemi shared their experiences as a Sanctuary Scholar at Royal Holloway:

“I am writing to express my heartfelt gratitude for your generosity in funding the Sanctuary Scholarship at Royal Holloway, University of London. When I received the news that I had been awarded this scholarship, I was overjoyed.

This opportunity has not only changed my life but has also opened the door to an education I deeply value. I was born in Lagos, Nigeria and lived there for 12 years and moved to the UK as an asylum seeker. I volunteer at a donation hub where they seek to aid migrant and Individuals in difficult circumstances. Additionally, I have completed mentorships and internships in business and finance related sectors to help my knowledge about my career path.

Without the Sanctuary Scholarship, I would have had to defer my university education for at least a year. More importantly, I may not have been able to pursue my undergraduate studies in Business and Management at Royal Holloway at all. This scholarship has given me the chance to explore my passion for understanding how businesses succeed in diverse environments, bringing me one step closer to my long-term career goals.

During my A-level studies, I faced significant uncertainty about my future. Due to my immigration status, I was ineligible for opportunities such as apprenticeships, which made me feel unsure of how to continue my education. After researching other possibilities, I discovered the Sanctuary Scholarship and realised it was my only viable path forward. While the process was daunting due to the limited availability, your support has provided me with the guidance and reassurance I needed to overcome these challenges.

Thanks to this scholarship, I am now able to pursue my dreams in an environment that fosters both personal and academic growth. I am incredibly grateful for your belief in students like me, and for giving me the opportunity to succeed at Royal Holloway.

Thank you once again for your invaluable support. I am committed to making the most of this opportunity and looking forward to the future.”

"My PhD project, titled, ‘Global Humanitarianism: Quaker Aid to Refugees from Nazism’ investigates the significant, yet understudied contribution of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in aiding Jewish victims of Nazi persecution. Using Holocaust survivor testimony, and minutes, correspondence and memoranda from Quaker organisations in Britain and America, I aim to position the Quaker humanitarian effort during the Second World War within an international network.

My thesis uses the Quaker role in the implementation of the Kindertransport scheme as its chronological starting point, concluding the period under review in the aftermath of the War. While existing literature on the Quaker response to the Holocaust tends to treat the Kindertransport as a climax, positioning the initiative as a starting point will allow it to be embedded in a longer history of Quaker humanitarian traditions. Using this combination of pre-war, wartime, and postwar contexts, my project seeks to illuminate how pacifist-based humanitarianism took shape in the face of such challenging circumstances. I am particularly interested in how aid agencies reconcile their efforts to relieve suffering with the relationships they must maintain with the regimes that cause such suffering. My project thus treats the Quaker effort to assist victims of Nazism as a tripartite relationship between aid worker, refugee, and fascist. To do so, I use a variety of material, from Holocaust survivor testimony to official documents from the aid agencies themselves, and from the governments with which they dealt. This methodology will draw on English-, French-, Portuguese, and German-language material, offering fresh perspectives on Second World War humanitarianism, where existing scholarship tends to rely on English and German sources."

PhD project title: 'The Ties That Bind: Diasporic Aid Networks amongst Malayan-Chinese, 1937-1957.'

Xian is a Malaysian PhD History researcher at Royal Holloway, focusing on aid and humanitarian networks and the Overseas Chinese (huaqiao) diaspora in Malaya, particularly their intersections with identity over World War II and the early Cold War. Xian has recently become focused on the movements of huaqiao from Southeast Asia to China in the face of Japanese annexation in WW2, and how their postwar “repatriation” was impacted by communism and decolonisation.

Outside of his topic, Xian maintains an interest in history education amongst the public in his homeland, and transnational religious networks between Mainland and Diaspora amongst the wider Chinese communities.

Xian is open to collaboration on projects/publications on the Overseas Chinese diaspora and their transnational networks, preferably with a focus on Southeast Asia; he is also open to projects focusing on transglobal/regional aid networks and NGOs.

"My PhD thesis focuses on bisexual+ people claiming asylum in the United Kingdom and France.

While there is very limited quantitative data available on the success rates of such cases, research in other states finds that bisexuals’ asylum claims are much less likely to be successful than those made by gay men and lesbians. This raises the questions of whether this is also the case in the UK and France; why; and what is it about bisexuality that makes it less recognisable as deserving of international protection?

To decipher how understandings of deservingness of protection and bisexuality are (re)produced through asylum, I carried out semi-structured interviews with refugees and people seeking asylum, lawyers, support workers, state employees and journalists; participant observation; archival research and analysis of legal decisions. While obtaining refugee status is possible for bisexuals in these states, I argue that bisexuals often exceed the various filtering devices which make up their asylum system, making it difficult to recognise their claims as bisexuals. To support this, I examine the ways in which the queer refugee has been (re)produced as exclusively homosexual; how protection is determined via a claimant’s proximity to monosexuality; and the tension between the demand for consistency and bisexuality’s fluidity.

Beyond my thesis, I have been involved in queer migrant solidarity organising in London and I have co-run an impact project on how frontline migrant support services can navigate issues of gender and sexuality in their work. The workbook that resulted from this project can be accessed here."