This year’s Big Give Christmas Challenge is now over and we are extremely grateful for the generous support of our donors.  We have so far raised over £30,000 towards our Bursaries Fund. Now the campaign continues and we desperately need your help to reach out to more prisoners of conscience in exile, to help resume their interrupted lives and careers.   People like Maryam*

Maryam is a psychologist and women’s rights activist from Iran who bravely challenged discrimination in Iranian society.  She held workshops for women who were victims of domestic violence to encourage awareness of their rights, conducted research into women’s equality and ran a clinic working with children who suffered from learning difficulties.  Due to her courageous work, Maryam was imprisoned for two years.  She was brutally tortured while in prison and suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder.

Now living in exile in the UK, and with the help of a bursary grant paid for by one of our supporters, Maryam is pursuing an MA in Psychosocial Studies.  By complementing her existing academic achievements and work experience, this will enable Maryam to resume her career in this country.  When I met Maryam recently she told me that our bursary grant had come at just the right time – that without it she would not have been able to undertake her course or envisage any hopeful future for herself after all she had endured.  With your help, we can help many others like Maryam.

Donations received now will not be matched by the Big Give, but if you would like to send a gift, either online or by post, one of our very kind Patrons has offered to match donations of those who weren’t able to donate via the Big Give.

Thank you, in anticipation of your support.

* Name changed to protect her identity.

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