Jantela Partnerships was set up to provide regional co-ordination and support to the work of locally based refugee and migrant voluntary sector organisations.

Jantela means “umbrella” in Amharic (one of the languages spoken in Ethiopia). It was chosen to represent the work we do as an “umbrella” organisation, bringing together groups across the region.

Working together, we’re working better…

Our partner groups offer a range of services to refugees and asylum seekers. See our partners page for more details.

Our partnership groups—

• Share ideas
• Keep up-to-date with information
• Solve problems together
• Share resources
• Improve client access to services
• Raise standards
• Have a stronger, united voice—bringing attention to the issues facing asylum seekers and refugees
• Combine their campaigns to better influence policy makers
• Create a supportive network for members working within this challenging field

How we began

Jantela was founded, back in 2006, by a partnership of five organisations:

• Northern Refugee Centre (NRC)
• Leeds Asylum Seeker Support network (LASSN)
• Bradford Action for Refugees (BAfR)
• Refugee and Asylum Seekers Advocacy Project (RASA) Wakefield
• SOLACE—Surviving Persecution and Exile

We’ve grown!

New funding was secured in 2009. Today we have grown to become a group of 14 partners.