It is often helpful for new arrival to meet somebody from the community who has led a successful life in the UK. Such people are in the best position to offer assistance, as they have been through the same experience of change.

At many occasions, new arrivals dont have the chance to land among the members of their community. Peterborough African Community Organisation (PACO) has anticipated the impact this can have on the individuals concerned and is offering support to people in need through its friendly network.  PACO was set up as a means of tackling isolation.

Many of PACO members are Asylum seekers or Refugees. PACO recognises that these are vulnerable people; they have lost contact with their friends and families. They may feel they have lost their human dignity, or that they don't belong to a particular Cultural or Social Group. PACO addresses this issue by facilitating contact between people with common origins who came to settle in Peterborough. One of the major problems that PACO tries to address is the language barrier.

To give a voice to the voiceless, PACO can assist a lot through its advocacy program. As it can take a long time to know the outcome of the asylum applications made to the Home Office, this is where PACO comes in to assist people who live in uncertainty. This is more or less restoring peoples hope.

We urge new arrivals to come forward and make contact with their local community in order to become part of it. Often we can facilitate this process by putting them in contact with others arriving under similar circumstances. We strongly believe that this can pave the way to get integrated within the system.

The organisation has also initiated good relationship with statutory bodies and main stream agencies around Peterborough. Since its beginning, PACO has particularly enjoyed good working relationship with the New Link Centre which currently accommodating its offices.