A REFUGEE who was forced to flee from Afghanistan with his family has told how a local football charity helped him settle in to Inverclyde.

Father-of-five Sayed Kazem Sadat left his home country in August last year as US troops pulled out of the war-torn nation.

He knew little about Scotland when he came to the country, but has been overwhelmed by the support he has received in Inverclyde.

Since arriving in the area, Sayed has been helped by Morton in the Community to improve his English and find work.

He has recently completed a programme run by the team at Cappielow, which was aimed at developing digital skills.

Sayed hopes to secure a job in construction and give back to the local community.

He said: "Morton have been a big help to me and my family - the digital skills training has been very good.

"I was also given a computer by them and I have had a lot of help from my teacher Ross.

"Inverclyde Council have also given me so much and the refugee team are always there to help with my problems.

"I want to improve my English in the future so I can work to support my family and help other people in Inverclyde.

"I'll be going to college in Paisley this August to work on my English, which I hope will help me get a job in construction.

"I find the people around here really kind.

"Whenever I have a problem I just ask my neighbours and they help me.

"I didn't know anything about the culture when I came here - I didn't even know how to get shopping - but I've been lucky because everyone has been so helpful to me.

"Before I came here I had been told that Scottish people had problems with refugees, but I haven't seen any problems in all the time I've been here.

"Everyone in Inverclyde and in Greenock has been so helpful to me since we came here."

Morton in the Community's course, which was delivered with the help of SCVO funding, has helped 34 individuals enhance their digital and employability skills in Inverclyde since it started last year.

The football charity have also been able to give out 48 new Google chromebooks to locals using funding from Connecting Scotland, an initiative set up by the Scottish Government.

Ross McLaren, education and employability manager at Ton's charity arm, told the Tele the team were pleased to be able to help people like Sayed develop new skills.

He said: "We've provided a variety of support - some of it through group sessions, some of it on a one-to-one basis.

"The course covered everything from teaching the basics of using a computer to things like using Microsoft Office.

"The aim of the project was develop these skills so that by the end the people taking part would have CVs, cover letters and a range of new skills to help them become employed.

"We've continued to work with some of the participants after the programme finished.

"It's great that we're supporting people as they learn new skills and we're happy to have played a part in helping Sayed settle in to life in Scotland."