Gabrielle Bower Volunteer Gabrielle was born in Leicester but moved away from the United Kingdom at the age of two. Before coming to Manchester she lived in Cyprus, Canada, Malta, Spain and the Czech Republic. She completed a Law LLB at Bangor University and is currently undertaking the Bar Professional Training Course at BPP Manchester, with the hopes of specialising as a Human Rights barrister once she has qualified. She wants to use the knowledge she has gained in her studies to contribute to a worthy cause through work with RAPAR.
Rachel Broady Newsletter Rachel was born in Manchester but grew up in London and has since lived all over the country, and in Australia. She is now back in Manchester, where she is a freelance journalist. She graduated from Univeristy of Central Lancashire with a BA in Journalism and has an MA in Creative Writing from Manchester Metropolitan University. She is a member of the National Union of Journalists. She uses her media, creative and research skills to help RAPAR make a difference to the lives of refugees and asylum seekers, who are among the most vulnerable and attacked people in this country, and are people, entitled to respect and support.
Sadia Kuraishy Casework & Fundraising Born and raised in Manchester, Sadia is currently a third year Law student at The University of Manchester. She has a keen interest in Human Rights and has a passion for helping others. She hopes to use her skills, obtained from both her degree and previous volunteering experiences, to support refugees and asylum seekers.
Rania AlJubouri Casework Rania was born in Portsmouth but grew up in Rainhill. She is now currently a part-time legal practice student at Manchester Metropolitan University. Having completed the LLB, her aim is to use the skills she has obtained from her law degree to help RAPAR. She is committed to helping those who are most vulnerable in society.
Vannese Mazhambe Casework Born in Zimbabwe, Vannese has travelled around Europe, Asia, Australia and all around the UK. Passionate about making a difference and helping others in every way she can, Vannese has taken part in several Cancer Run UK to raise funds for cancer awareness and served as an advocate for clients in the mental health sector. Holding qualifications in multiple disciplines which are in the medical sector and the legal sector Vannese intends to use her qualifications and experience to help other to get fair consideration in their asylum and immigration cases. Travelling around Asia and witnessing first hand how human rights are abused in other countries has significantly attributed to Vannese’s passion and desire to help ensure the protection and enforcement of other human rights.
Joe McArdle Volunteer Having graduated from the University of Liverpool with a BA in Philosophy and Politics, during which he focused his studies on US intervention in Latin America, Joe is currently undertaking an MA in Human Rights at the University of Manchester. Joe is committed to achieving fair representation for those most vulnerable in society and intends to apply the skills he has developed through his education and voluntary capacities to help fight towards this.
Jessica Purchase Volunteer Jess grew up in Derbyshire, but has also spent periods of time living in India, New Zealand and Australia. She graduated from the University of Nottingham with a degree in Psychology and spent 18 months working as a mental health support worker in Derbyshire before moving Manchester to retrain as a lawyer.
Jess aims to eventually practise as a human rights barrister, and is passionate about helping the most vulnerable in society to be represented fairly and have their voices heard.
Swati Chuni Volunteer Born and raised in Manchester, Swati went on to study law at Aberystwyth University and competed the legal practice course at the university of Sheffiled. Having a keen interest in human rights in particular fighting for the rights of refugees, she also volunteered for the red cross. Her aim is to use the skills she has obtained from her degree to help RAPAR and fight for this great cause.
Emma Pollock Volunteer Born in Derbyshire and recently returned from a stint teaching English abroad; Emma is now in Manchester and part of the RAPAR team. She has a background in journalism. She has a keen interest in human rights and would like to direct her energy into doing whatever she can to support refugees and asylum seekers in the UK.
Carina Ripley Artist-in-Residence Carina was born in Devon but moved to Manchester in 2012 to study Interactive Arts at Manchester School of Art (MMU). She became involved with human rights and joined RAPAR in December following a Uni project that looked at the Iraq and Afghanistan wars as well as the ongoing conflict in Palestine. She has worked on the Roma events and Young RAPAR. Under her new title of Artist-in-Residence she is very excited to get involved with and set up more projects.