A wonderful walk in nature with a guide kindly provided by the Friends of Bushy and Home park. We learned so much about the wildlife, plants and history of the park whilst absorbing the calming affects of being out and about in nature.

Our community hub is the setting for various activities including table tennis. Our work experience students gave some insightful reflections on their involvement in our English lessons and other aspects of our work. We were delighted they found the whole experience so inspirational.

This blog was contributed by Ethan who is a student at The Kingston Academy. He was with us for a week on work experience and here are his reflections on his experience of working in an office with the RAK team and participating in activities with our clients including our tennis programme at Canbury Gardens.

The ‘RAK Pack’ Dragon Boat team will be participating in the 2026 race on 19th July at Kingston riverside. Ulrika one of our volunteers will be paddling again this year. It’s one of several ways in which she has been supporting RAK.

Natalia wrote this poem in early 2022, when she was living in Kyiv, Ukraine.

“Back then, I had no idea that I would one day share it far from home—or that its meaning would become so powerful and so relevant, not only for me, but for countless others across the world. As someone who was forced to leave home because of war, I have come to understand the true value of democracy—not as an abstract idea, but as a daily reality. This poem is about choice, dignity, and freedom—and about the quiet strength of being heard.”

Being new to the area, not speaking English or suffering mental health challenges due to past trauma can affect the way in which people access new places.

We recently collaborated with a team of geography students and Dr. Peter Garside from Kingston University to create a community-led map of the most important spaces in the local area as seen through the eyes of RAK members. The mapping involved several discussions between the students and RAK members at our weekly Community Hub.