MEET Deborah Kahn

When did you first engage with refugee and asylum issues?

All of my forebears were refugees — on my mother’s side, they fled the pogroms in Eastern Europe in the late 1800s, and on my father’s side, they escaped Nazi Germany in 1938. The refugee experience is therefore woven into my own heritage. In my 40s, while studying psychotherapy, I became deeply interested in transgenerational trauma — how the impact of one generation’s suffering can echo into the next. When I retired and was looking for volunteering opportunities, supporting refugees felt like a natural path. I was delighted to discover that Cheltenham had become a Town of Sanctuary, and that CWR offered opportunities to contribute to the wellbeing of refugees and asylum seekers living here.

 What do you already do for CWR?

I began volunteering with CWR in the summer of 2022. My first experience was the annual picnic, and the warmth and sense of community that day convinced me I wanted to be more involved. I started by helping at the café, then joined the team that puts the Newsletter together. Through Cheltenham Volunteer Teachers, I’ve also been supporting a family for a couple of years, helping the children with their English and Maths. And I also volunteer with GARAS (Gloucestershire Action for Refugees and Asylum Seekers).

Can you tell us a bit more about your background?

I spent most of my working life in research publishing, a role that allowed me to travel widely and collaborate with people from many different cultures. I’ve always been fascinated by the ways people see and understand the world, which led me to study for an MA in Organisational Behaviour and later a Masters in Integrational Psychotherapy in my 40s. These experiences — professional, academic, and personal — have all shaped my interest in the refugee experience and equipped me with skills that I now bring to my volunteer work. One of my core beliefs is that our support should be shaped by the real needs and lived experiences of the people we work with, rather than by assumptions or imposed ideas.

Anything else you would like to add? 

I would encourage anyone who is thinking about volunteering with CWR to get involved. It is fun, interesting and so worthwhile!