North East Charity Awards 2026

We are incredibly proud to celebrate our colleague Tarik Alali, who received the Rising Star Award at the North East Charity Awards on 10 September 2026.

Tarik first became involved in the refugee sector while rebuilding his own life in Newcastle. When we first met Tarik, he was volunteering, learning English and looking for opportunities to develop his skills and experience.

In 2023, Tarik joined WERS on a small part-time contract.

Since then, he has grown into an important member of our team, bringing his experience, commitment and understanding of the challenges facing refugees and people seeking asylum into everything he does.

Today, Tarik works as our Community Outreach Worker, supporting people across Newcastle and the wider North East.

He has helped develop initiatives including New to Newcastle and Refugee: What's Next?, delivered outreach and awareness sessions, built relationships with local authorities and represented WERS in conversations with other organisations.

We are delighted that his contribution has been recognised across the North East charity sector.

Congratulations, Tarik. We are very proud of you!