Together with the NHS and Bolsover Wellness teams, we have worked together to support an asylum seeker.
Shamsul Rahman was born in Afghanistan in 1987 and worked for an American IT company. He had a good job, a lovely family and enjoyed playing cricket.
During the war Shamsul lost some of his family and also his job, believing his life to be in danger and having to leave his family behind he escaped his country and managed to get to Poland, where he was placed in a refuge with a group of people that he didn’t know and was treated very poorly. He came to England in 2022 where he says he was treated kindly and welcomed. 
Originally Shamsul settled in Ripley where he got involved with the local church and the Samaritans to integrate himself into the village life, before coming moving to Creswell in September 2023.
Shamsul said, “When I started my life in Creswell, I was feeling so frustrated and depressed. Through the NHS I received some wellness sessions (Talking therapy) with Kathryn”
All Shamsul wanted to do was to get up, go to work and play cricket, he didn’t want any handouts or any financial help just support to help him achieve these things and to be allowed to bring his family to the safety of the UK.
Through his GP and social prescriber, he was given the number for the Bolsover Wellness Programme. He contacted them and spoke to an officer who set up an appointment.
On meeting Shamsul and discussing his needs the officer signed him up to the free 12 week exercise course and accompanied him to the gym. As Shamsul had mentioned his love of cricket, the officer decided to enrol him onto the Bolsover PALS programme and enlisted the help of Wayne Hatton in the Council’s Sports Development Team to see if he could find somewhere that Shamsul could play cricket.
Whilst awaiting his visa, Shamsul is not allowed to work and because of his lack of funds he had no phone and had to go to the library to receive and reply to email messages. The only transport he had was a borrowed bicycle.
Wayne contacted Whitwell Cricket Club, the nearest club to where Shamsul was living, and discussed the situation and possibility of him joining them and taking part in winter netting practice in February 2024 at Worksop College.
Understanding Shamsul’s situation the club were good enough to waiver his weekly fees and arranged for someone to collect and return him home from sessions each week.
“I got free indoor cricket membership for 10 weeks in Worksop starting from 11 February 2024. Wayne Hatton and Rachel McHugh were the people who facilitated my cricket” said Shamsul.
Following the winter sessions Shamsul attended weekly practice at the club’s ground and when the cricket season started in April the club signed him to play for the second team, again, they waivered membership and match fees to allow him to play, for which he was very appreciative.
Shamsul added, “I was so excited and badly waiting to play my first game of cricket and I believed that I would do good bowling and get a few wickets but still, I was a bit nervous because I was going through some bad mental situations and depression. I was shocked when I played my first game on the 11th of May 2024 against Clipstone-CC.”
“I was able to bring my team to the border of winning and I was feeling so excited when I completed my eight overs of bowling and got three wickets and one important catch which led the game to the victory. Our captain decided to choose me as a man of the match of that game and I will never forget my journey from my toughest time to bright performance of cricket game.”
Sham, as he is affectionately known at the club, integrated into the club and over the season has played for both Whitwell seconds and the first eleven with some success. Players, members and spectators alike have all made him very welcome.
As of September 2024, Shamsul has had to appeal the decision on his visa application and still waits to see what the future holds for him and his family.
