🌱 Southwark, London · Est. 2026

Every refugee deserves a
new beginning.

Peer-led community integration for Sierra Leonean and West African refugees and asylum seekers in the UK. Delivered by someone who has lived every step of this journey. In your language. Always free.

Get Support Today See how we help →

Founder recognised internationally alongside

IOM · FIFA · African Development Bank Group · UNICEF · UNHCR · CNN · RFI

🏆

IOM-Verified Experience 3 years with the International Organisation for Migration — Migrants as Messengers programme. Peer-led. Culturally informed. Community trusted.

Free

Every service, to every person, always

Languages — English, Temne & Krio

50+

People we aim to support in Year 1

IOM

3 years verified migration experience

SE1 → London

Based in Southwark — serving all of London

"I built New Roots UK to be the organisation I wished had existed when I arrived. Nobody should navigate this alone."

— Ibrahim Kargbo, Founder

How We Help

Step by step, we walk with you

Step 01

🤝

You Reach Out

Step 02

💬

We Listen

We meet you where you are — in person, by phone, or online — in the language you choose. No judgment. No bureaucracy. Just conversation.

Step 03

🗺️

We Build Your Plan

Together we identify your most urgent needs — benefits, housing, work, documentation — and build a practical action plan tailored to you.

Step 04

🌱

Your Roots Grow

We support you over three to six months as you build independence, find work, connect with community, and put down new roots in the UK.

Our Services

Practical support. Real outcomes.

Every service is free, peer-led, and designed around the real challenges our community faces when building a new life in the UK.

🧭

Practical Settlement Support

Universal Credit, council and housing applications, opening a bank account, registering with a GP, and driving licence applications. Practical, everyday support only — for anything about your immigration or asylum case, we connect you with a qualified solicitor or adviser.

Get this support →

💼

Employment Coaching

CV writing, job applications, interview preparation, and career guidance. We help you access the UK job market and build genuine financial independence for your family.

Start your job search →

🏘️

Community Workshops

Group sessions at community centres, libraries, and mosques across South London. Practical topics in English, Temne, and Krio — no interpreter needed.

Join a workshop →

What We Do — and What We Don't

New Roots UK offers practical, peer-led settlement support — help with everyday systems like Universal Credit, housing, banking, and employment. We are not solicitors, and nobody at New Roots UK is authorised to advise on your immigration or asylum case.

For anything about your specific case — including asylum claims and family reunion applications — we connect you with a qualified solicitor or an adviser registered with the Immigration Advice Authority (IAA), never advise on it ourselves.

Who We Serve

Our community. Our people.

New Roots UK is for Sierra Leonean and West African refugees and asylum seekers navigating life in the United Kingdom.

🛂

Newly Granted Refugees

You have 42 days before asylum support ends. We help you navigate the transition to independence — quickly, practically, and in your language.

⏳

Asylum Seekers

Waiting for a decision is one of the hardest experiences. We provide community connection, practical guidance, and peer support throughout.

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦

Separated Families

Family separation is one of the most painful aspects of migration. We offer community and emotional support, and connect you with the British Red Cross Family Reunion service and qualified solicitors for anything about your case.

🌍

Sierra Leonean Community

Whether you arrived recently or are settled but struggling with a specific challenge — our door is open to every member of our community.

Ibrahim Kargbo

Founder & Director

3 years verified — IOM Migrants as Messengers programme

Jury Member & Guest Speaker — West & Central Africa Migration Journalism Award 2021

Fluent in English, Temne & Krio

10+ years entrepreneurial experience

Direct lived experience of the full UK asylum system

Internationally Recognised · Verified IOM Record

Jury Member & Guest Speaker

2021 West & Central Africa Migration Journalism Award

International Organization for Migration (IOM) · with RFI and APO Group · Virtual Ceremony, 10 November 2021

→ Served on the jury panel alongside Fatma Samoura, Secretary General of FIFA; Bajabulile Swazi Tshabalala, CFO of the African Development Bank Group; Kevin Frey of UNICEF; and senior UNHCR staff — selecting eight winning journalists from across West and Central Africa

→ Delivered a guest address to an international virtual audience on the importance of migration reporting for young people in Sierra Leone — ceremony moderated by CNN journalist Eleni Giokos

Ibrahim Kargbo presenting at an IOM Migrants as Messengers training session

IOM FIFA African Development Bank Group UNICEF UNHCR CNN RFI APO Group

Our Founder

Built from experience. Built for community.

"I built New Roots UK to be the organisation I wished had existed when I arrived. Nobody should have to navigate this alone."

Ibrahim Kargbo arrived in the UK in June 2023 and navigated the asylum system alone — no family, no community support, nobody who truly understood the experience. He learned the hard way: persistence, research, and determination through legal processes, government forms, benefit systems, and a job market he had to decode from scratch.

When status was granted, he realised the knowledge he had built was exactly what thousands of other Sierra Leonean and West African refugees desperately need. He has three years of verified experience with the International Organisation for Migration through the Migrants as Messengers programme. In 2021 he served as Jury Member and Guest Speaker at the inaugural West and Central Africa Migration Journalism Award — alongside FIFA, the African Development Bank Group, UNICEF, and UNHCR.

New Roots UK is not just a business idea. It is his purpose.

Ready to put down new roots?

Whether you need help with Universal Credit, finding work, or simply want to speak to someone who truly understands — reach out today. All services are completely free, no referral needed.

Email Us Today See Our Services

📧 newrootsukorg@gmail.com 🌐 www.newrootsuk.org 📍 Southwark, London SE1

✅

Message sent

Thank you for reaching out. We'll get back to you as soon as we can.

Every refugee deserves anew beginning.