Mimi

Today's blip subject is the very wonderful Mimi. She claims not to be particularly interesting but I'll let you be the judge of that, dear reader.

Mimi was born in Kosovo and came to this country as a refugee back in 1992 - she's worked for the British Red Cross Kosovan refugee programme, for Liverpool City Council as a bilingual support worker for asylum seekers and for Refugee Action as well as working on mental health and HIV awareness projects in Africa.

She's also a former student at Liverpool's own 'Fame School', the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA).

These days she works in the same building as me as Diversity Co-ordinator for Liverpool's fantastic HIV/AIDS support, advice and information organisation, Sahir House, where she works particularly with people who are HIV positive and seeking asylum. Our paths cross pretty regularly - on the stairs as well as through our work! - and today I was able to buy some delicious home-made cakes from her to raise funds for the incredible work that she and her colleagues do at Sahir House. (The cakes were, incidentally, a big hit with my trustees at their monthly meeting!)

Mimi's not only an energetic, articulate and engaging dynamo but she's also a really lovely woman and just one of many thousands of reasons that our refugee communities are a huge asset to us and not the negative 'problem' that the media and politicians so often portray them as. Mimi - you rock!