Bhutanese Welfare Association in UK (BWA)

The Bhutanese Welfare Association (BWA) is a non-profit organisation established on 27th July 2011. It was established by a group of Bhutanese people within the UK to bring all Bhutanese together to nurture, facilitate, empower and promote Bhutan’s culture, and to aid the population in the development of the skills that are essential for establishing a new life in the United Kingdom. The mission of BWA is to ensure the development of support services that will enable the Bhutanese people to improve their standard of living and increase their self-worth, independence, and autonomy.
BWA’s methods for facilitating the growth of Bhutanese culture, social integration and personal development of individuals includes various activities, programs and guidance. It is an invaluable resource for all Bhutanese to discover their strength and potential to thrive at the start of a new life in a new country, by successfully adjusting to English culture while also retaining their own traditions. 

Bhutanese Welfare Association in UK (BWA) website

Cynthia Orchard

Cynthia Orchard is a human rights lawyer, trainer and policy expert. She was the Statelessness Policy and Casework Coordinator at Consonant (formerly Asylum Aid and Migrants Resource Centre) from 2018-2020 and Legal Policy Officer at Asylum Aid 2016-2018. She has previously worked with UNHCR (London), REDRESS, BADIL (the Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights), Oxford’s Refugee Studies Centre, the Center for Exchange and Solidarity in El Salvador and several other NGOs, and was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ivory Coast, West Africa. Cynthia was Consonant/Asylum Aid’s member of the Advisory Committee of the European Network on Statelessness for four years and collaborated closely with ENS and other organisations and individuals working on statelessness. She has a Bachelors degree in Political Science (University of California at Santa Barbara), Juris Doctorate (University of Virginia), and Masters degree in International Human Rights Law (University of Oxford). She speaks English (native), Spanish (fluent), French (basic) and Russian (basic).

SALAM for Democracy and Human Rights

SALAM for Democracy and Human Rights (SALAM DHR) is an NGO that endeavours to preserve universal principles of dignity and respect by shielding democracy and human rights.


In the pursuit of this vision, SALAM DHR aims to influence British, European and UN representatives to improve the situation in the Middle East, and foster awareness of human rights and democracy.


To accomplish these goals, SALAM DHR conducts monitoring and analysis, produces reports, develops recommendations on policy and legislation, organises advocacy campaigns, conducts trainings, and builds effective coalitions. SALAM DHR is actively involved in international cooperation for human rights and democracy, including the production of alternative reports on key human rights topics, coordinating coalitions, lobbying for reform of flawed institutions, and articulating NGO positions at the UN Human Rights Council, the European Parliament, and various domestic bodies.

SALAM for Democracy and Human Rights website