Majority of those seeking our support are Nigerian UK students - Food charity manager – Newstrends
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Majority of those seeking our support are Nigerian UK students – Food charity manager

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11 months ago

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Majority of those seeking our support are Nigerian UK students – Food charity manager

An economic crash in Nigeria left international students in the United Kingdom [UK] struggling to afford tuition fees, with some at Teesside University blocked from their studies and ordered to return home.

Manager Debbie Fixter said 75% of clients at Thornaby’s Sprouts Community Food Charity (SCFC) were affected students and the situation had pushed it to “maximum capacity”.

The university said it was providing support and international applicants must provide evidence of sufficient funds when applying for a visa.

SCFC organises a range of activities and offers food for free or at low cost, along with clothes and household items.

Over the course of recent months, the charity said its clientele had noticeably changed with the majority of those visiting being Nigerian masters degree students from Teesside University.

Nigeria is currently experiencing its worst economic crisis in a generation, with the value of the naira depreciating by more than 200% against the dollar in the past 12 months.

As a result, students at UK universities have seen their savings wiped out and budgets suddenly and significantly reduced, leaving them struggling to afford the cost of living.

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Some have subsequently been ordered to leave the UK after struggling to pay their tuition fees on time, as reported by the BBC this month.

But Teesside University continues to recruit students in Nigeria, according to a spokesman.

‘Part of our community’

An increasing number of students who come to the UK are turning to community charities and organisations for much-needed help, according to SCFC manager Ms Fixter.

“They’re really struggling, they need help and they’re part of our community,” she said.

Client Boluwatife Elusakin said he has had to “dive deep” to afford the cost of living and studying in the UK.
Nigeria’s economic crisis means he is having to spend double what he had budgeted.
“Things are no longer the same,” he said.

“I’ve had to cut costs because of the currency crash, it hit my savings as I’d already budgeted funds to come here.

“It makes me feel sad, but I hope I can endure just one year and all will be well.”

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Ms Fixter said her charity was currently at “maximum capacity” as a result of the situation and called on Teesside University to offer more support.

She said the university had so far been proactive and offered a welcome £500 donation of Sainsbury’s vouchers after being informed of the situation, but called it a “drop in the ocean” in terms of what was needed to support the influx of students at the charity.

The university said it worked closely with community organisations to signpost students back to its own support services and had provided vouchers and contributions to ensure the organisations could offer support to students.

“Teesside University remains a popular destination for students from across the world who choose to study here because of its global reputation for excellence in teaching and research,” a spokesman added.

“All international applicants need to provide evidence that they have sufficient funds to cover tuition fees and living costs as part of the visa application process.”

The university is offering “case by case” support to those affected by the situation in Nigeria.

Majority of those seeking our support are Nigerian UK students – Food charity manager

  • Source: BBC
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Trump mulls closure of US embassies in Africa

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2 hours ago

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April 17, 2025

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US embassy, Abuja

Trump mulls closure of US embassies in Africa

The Trump administration is reportedly considering shutting down nearly 30 embassies and consulates worldwide—including several in Africa—as part of a broader plan to streamline America’s diplomatic presence abroad.

This is according to an internal document from the US State Department, obtained by CNN.

Among the proposed closures are American embassies in Lesotho, the Republic of Congo, the Central African Republic, and South Sudan.

A consulate in South Africa is also listed for potential shutdown.

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These developments come amid a sweeping attempt by the administration to shrink the size of the US federal government, with influence from the Elon Musk-backed Department of Government Efficiency.

In total, the document recommends closing 10 embassies and 17 consulates around the globe, including missions in Europe, Asia, and the Caribbean.

Africa, however, features prominently on the list—raising concerns about the potential diplomatic and developmental fallout for the continent.

While it’s unclear whether US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has approved the recommendations, the document indicates that American diplomatic operations in affected countries would be consolidated into neighboring nations’ missions.

Trump mulls closure of US embassies in Africa

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Titanic: Found ladies watch for auction at £50,000

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2 days ago

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April 15, 2025

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Titanic: Found ladies watch for auction at £50,000

A lady’s pocket watch discovered among the belongings of one of the passengers who drowned on the Titanic’s doomed maiden voyage could fetch up to 50,000 euros (66,000 dollars) at auction.

Hans Christensen Givard, a 27-year-old Danish second-class passenger, was one of 1,500 people killed when the ship collided with an iceberg in 1912.

Givard was heading to the United States with two other companions who died in the catastrophe.

The watch was discovered when Givard’s body was recovered from the North Atlantic, and he was buried in Halifax, Canada.

The pockets contained a savings book, keys, some cash in a wallet, a silver watch, a compass, and a passport.

The gold ladies’ pocket watch, which showed signs of saltwater corrosion, was also retrieved.

All of his goods were restored to his brother in Denmark, and his relatives are now selling the watch.

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The tragic incident of Givard led curator Jesper Hjermind and his niece, journalist and U.S. resident Mette Hjermind McCall, to publish the book Titanic, De Danske Fortaellinger (Titanic, The Danish Stories), which mentions the pocket watch.

Claes Goran Wetterholm, the world’s greatest specialist on the Scandinavian aspect of the Titanic tale, also showed it in Copenhagen in 2012.

The watch will be auctioned on April 26 by Henry Aldridge and Son in Devizes, Wiltshire.

Auctioneer Andrew Aldridge said, “This piece is documented in the official list of Hans’s effects compiled by the authorities in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in the weeks after the Titanic disaster and has remained in his family ever since.

“It was one of the centrepieces of the display of Titanic memorabilia in the Tivoli in Copenhagen in 2012, which illustrates its importance.

“The watch’s movement is frozen in time at the moment the cold North Atlantic waters consumed not only its owner but the most famous ocean liner of all time, Titanic, on April 15, 1912,” he added.

Titanic: Found ladies watch for auction at £50,000

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US judge stops Trump move to revoke 500,000 immigrants’ legal status

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2 days ago

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April 15, 2025

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U.S President Donald Trump

US judge stops Trump move to revoke 500,000 immigrants’ legal status

A federal judge on Monday blocked US President Donald Trump’s administration from quickly revoking the legal status of hundreds of thousands of immigrants from Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua and Haiti.

The ruling by District Judge Indira Talwani in Boston is the latest order against Trump’s rapid push to carry out mass deportations, particularly targeting Latin Americans.

In March, the administration said it was moving to revoke the legal status of some 532,000 Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans who came to the United States under a “parole” program initially launched by former president Joe Biden in October 2022.

“The court grants emergency relief staying the Termination of Parole Processes for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans,” Talwani wrote in her order.

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The parole program allowed entry to the United States for two years for up to 30,000 migrants per month from the four countries, which have grim human rights records.

In her order, Talwani said the Trump administration had acted on a flawed interpretation of immigration law, with expedited removal applicable to non-citizens entering the United States illegally, but not those authorized to be in the country, such as through the parole program.

Under Trump’s revocation, the immigrants would have lost their legal protection effective April 24, just 30 days after the Department of Homeland Security published its order in the Federal Register.

Trump has vowed to deport “millions” of undocumented migrants in his second term, after running an election campaign that focused on illegal immigration.

Among other measures, he has invoked rare wartime legislation to fly hundreds of alleged members of a Venezuelan gang to El Salvador, which is imprisoning the migrants.

 

US judge stops Trump move to revoke 500,000 immigrants’ legal status

AFP

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