Sylvester Rukani

Biography	Sylvester is a Qualified Social Work Practitioner with over 15 years of experience in providing high quality care and support to children and young people and their families who are socially excluded or who are experiencing problems in their lives. Sylvester is a registered social worker with Social Work England and has a consistent track record of working successfully with individuals, families, or groups, all within a variety of settings since 2010. Sylvester is currently pursuing PhD in Social Work at the University of Salford, Dept of Health and Society. Sylvester has successfully managed various health and social care settings in the North West of England, leading teams, safeguarding and protecting vulnerable children and young people and adults from harm or abuse.
Research Interests	In his PhD research, Sylvester has great interest and passion in exploring experiences of care leavers and unaccompanied asylum seeking children and young people aged under 18, and those transitioning from care aged 18 -25 and those separated from their legal guardians, who are seeking asylum in the UK after displacement. Care leavers and Asylum seeking young people aged 18-25 also continue to be a vulnerable group in society. For example, as of September 2022, the UK received more than 5000 asylum applications for unaccompanied children. Most came from Sudan, Albania, Eritrea, Afghanistan, and Syria, but demographics fluctuate depending on migration politics and global dynamics. Unaccompanied asylum seeking children are rendered vulnerable by their unaccompanied status and the traumatic experiences of a forced migratory journey, with health consequences such as depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, infections, and nutritional deficiencies. This is an area that requires more research in understanding challenges faced by care leavers and those who sought asylum in the United Kingdom. Care of these young people falls between the cracks of migration management and child protection. Preventing this requires multidisciplinary collaboration. and a lot of research in this area.

Biography

Sylvester is a Qualified Social Work Practitioner with over 15 years of experience in providing high quality care and support to children and young people and their families who are socially excluded or who are experiencing problems in their lives. Sylvester is a registered social worker with Social Work England and has a consistent track record of working successfully with individuals, families, or groups, all within a variety of settings since 2010. Sylvester is currently pursuing PhD in Social Work at the University of Salford, Dept of Health and Society.

Sylvester has successfully managed various health and social care settings in the North West of England, leading teams, safeguarding and protecting vulnerable children and young people and adults from harm or abuse.

Research Interests

In his PhD research, Sylvester has great interest and passion in exploring experiences of care leavers and unaccompanied asylum seeking children and young people aged under 18, and those transitioning from care aged 18 -25 and those separated from their legal guardians, who are seeking asylum in the UK after displacement. Care leavers and Asylum seeking young people aged 18-25 also continue to be a vulnerable group in society. For example, as of September 2022, the UK received more than 5000 asylum applications for unaccompanied children. Most came from Sudan, Albania, Eritrea, Afghanistan, and Syria, but demographics fluctuate depending on migration politics and global dynamics. Unaccompanied asylum seeking children are rendered vulnerable by their unaccompanied status and the traumatic experiences of a forced migratory journey, with health consequences such as depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, infections, and nutritional deficiencies.

This is an area that requires more research in understanding challenges faced by care leavers and those who sought asylum in the United Kingdom. Care of these young people falls between the cracks of migration management and child protection. Preventing this requires multidisciplinary collaboration. and a lot of research in this area.