'I don't have that fear I can drown' - Refugees and asylum seekers overcome sea trauma in Bristol

ITV News' Verity Wishart spoke to refugees about their experiences

Refugees and asylum seekers based in the West Country are overcoming water-based trauma through a new series of swimming sessions.

Reclaim The Sea and Refugees Welcome North Somerset have been helping women at Weston Marine Lake and The Wave in Bristol.

Many of the participants associated water with fear and loss after traumatic experiences on migrant boats or no access to the sea in their home countries. 

After working one on one with volunteers during the weekly sessions, one participant told ITV News: "I feel so relaxed, it's as if we don't have any problems in the water.

Reclaim the Sea and Refugees Welcome North Somerset have been running swimming sessions for refugee women across the South West. Credit: Katie Pritchard

"I didn't know anything about swimming, but since they've introduced this programme to us, the couple of times I've gone, I've seen I've really improved - I don't even want to come out."

The sessions have allowed them to learn basic swimming skills.

"I feel so confident in it, I don't have that fear that I can drown," she added.

The programme has a trauma-informed, participant-led approach and is structured around the needs and feelings of the women involved and aims to address mental health issues prevalent among refugees and asylum seekers. 

Helping them are a handful of volunteers who in just a few weeks have seen a change in how they interact with the water.  Credit: Katie Pritchard

Programme lead, Rebecca Wetten from Reclaim the Sea, said the programme is especially important in the current climate, with "a hostile environment for people with these backgrounds".

"To create a sense of safety, of joy, positivity, confidence building - a place where we can tackle both health issues and mental health issues at the same time," she said.

"Building a sense of community, it's exactly what's needed."

Helping them are a handful of volunteers who in just a few weeks have seen a change in how they interact with the water. 

Volunteer, Katie Pritchard said: "The participants we're working with, refugee women, from South America, the Middle East, South Africa, they've been through so much.

"They've put so much trust and faith in the volunteers and in our programme and that's just so inspiring to be around."

The women have not only gained swimming skills but a sense of community. Credit: Stevie-Jo Fowler

Women taking part said they have found a sense of community during the sessions.

"They are my family, already. They treat me like their own. They have taken me for who I am and I am happy," one said.

A fundraiser has also been set up to raise funds to allow the sessions to continue and be rolled out to both men and women.