OUR AIMS
Babylon aims to help young refugees, asylum seekers and migrants to...
OUR TEAM
ALI GHADERI
Founder & DIRECTOR
Ali is an actor and activist based in London. He has worked with different charities and organisations, such as Our Second Home, Counterpoint Arts, and the British Red Cross. He loves helping people, experiencing diverse cultures and learning new languages.
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As an actor, Ali has performed at The Globe, the National and Leeds Playhouse. As an activist he usually focuses on the problems that refugees and asylum seekers are facing in the UK and around the world, including racism and inequality, and is always looking to fight against negative stereotypes about refugees and asylum seekers.
SANAM
Facilitator
Sanam is a poet and activist who strives to use her creativity for social justice. She likes to explore her ethnicity, gender and sexuality through drawing, writing and discussion. She feels most inspired working with diverse communities and tries to create a sense of home wherever she goes.
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Through her work and studies, Sanam has specialised in facilitating creative writing, storytelling and drama workshops for children, teenagers and adults. She has worked with vulnerable youth in her borough, toddlers at summer camps, unaccompanied young asylum seekers, and care home residents. In her free evenings, she makes fesenjoon (Iranian stew) and cycles through the city for cups of tea and friendly conversations.
MARDIN MAHMOUDPOUR
Lead facilitator
Mardin is an experienced actor, facilitator and leader who has been working with different organisations to build better lives for refugees, asylum seekers and migrants from all around the world who have come to the United Kingdom.
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Mardin harnesses the power of art, language and sport to support the young people to build their confidence and self-expression, to help them settle into life in the UK. Mardin also works with a wide range of migrants in various charities and organisations such as Springboard and Our Second Home to help create a better environment for everyone.
EMMA BRAND
Communication Lead
Emma Brand is a theatre-maker and performer from London. She was inspired by her family's history of being Jewish refugees to the UK, to get involved in Our Second Home, where she is now the Training Lead on the leadership programme.
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For her artistic work, Emma trained as a theatre-maker at Goldsmiths College, London, where she formed an international performance collective with artists from India and Taiwan. She has also volunteered with young people for over ten years and likes to bring creativity to youth spaces, and a sense of welcoming and playfulness into her theatre projects.
AMIR
Photographer
Amir is from Afghanistan, with Having been evacuated in August 2021, he now lives in Southend on Sea.
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Amir was a photographer in Afghanistan, and it is still a job he is very passionate about. He became a Young Leader at Safe Passage International in 2021, and graduated from their Leadership Programme in 2022. He worked with Good Chance Theatre as a Production and Marketing Assistant on their Fly With Me project, with thousands of kites flying at 47 places around the world.
​ABDULRAHMAN BDIWI
Facilitator
Abdulrahman Bdiwi is a Syrian refugee working as a project administrator for Breaking Barriers.
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Abdulrahman is also a Young Citizen Trainer for Coram, Refugee Week Ambassador 2022 and a Volunteer Ambassador for Voices Network, which is a collective of refugees and people seeking asylum founded by the Red Cross. Actively engaged with several refugee organisations, Abdulrahman’s contributions have been instrumental in the effectiveness and success of projects aimed at assisting and uplifting refugees.
MEHRAVEH
Facilitator
Mehraveh is from Iran. She has been in UK for over a year, having been recently reunited with family.
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Mehraveh is currently undertaking a BTech in Science. She is enjoying volunteering in different organisations and charities and is passionate about making new friends and gaining knowledge about other people with diverse backgrounds making everyone special and unique. Mehraveh is also involved with Springboard and Our Second Home
AYMEN MAHAMMEDNOR
Facilitator
Aymen Mahammednor is from Eritrea and currently lives in London. He is Business Administration.
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Aymen is a Coram Young Citizens Trainer and a Youth Leader at Caras and Red Cross. Aymen is also a passionate amateur boxer.
SANDRA
Welfare support officer
Sandra is from Greece. Since 2019, she has been working and volunteering with different civil society organisations as an educator, facilitator and programme coordinator with young and adult refugees such as Woodcraft Folk, The Launchpad Collective and Dost
Kevin
Theatre Director
Kevin is a theatre director, educator and facilitator born and raised in Vancouver, who lives and works in London. Kevin’s directorial work has been seen around the world in Canada, USA, China, India and the UK with companies such as Canada’s Shaw Festival, Shakespeare’s Globe, LAMDA and the Central Academy of Drama in Beijing.
He regularly facilitates workshops for a wide range of participants including asylum seekers, refugees, professional actors, at-risk youth and students with special educational needs.
Rakiba Alnahar
Facilitator
Rakiba Alnahar is a Syrian refugee who left Syria in 2014. She has lived in England for six years and is now studying to become a primary school teacher at Greenwich University. She has been an active member of Coram Young Citizens since 2017 and delivered workshops by young people for young people all across London's colleges to help and inspire young people with whom she shares similar experiences of arriving in the UK. She is also a part of other organizations such as Baytree Center and REUK.