Because of Getaway Girls, I’m building my future

Getaway Girls; empowers girls and young women in Leeds to build confidence, resilience, and essential skills through fun and gently challenging weekly group sessions. 

Lana Omle arrived in the UK from Syria aged just 13. When her Mum heard about Getaway Girls through a Community group chat, Lana saw her chance to find the friendship and Community she’d been hoping for. 

“I started with Getaway Girls around 2016. I couldn’t speak much English, and I really wanted to meet People who had similar stories to me, and have my voice within the Community because that was hard for me at school. 

“I went every Sunday, and they offered that our mums could come with us, because in our culture it’s hard for parents to trust you to go alone at that age. So, the mums had their own group downstairs while the girls were upstairs. It was really bringing the Community together - I have a lot of friends that I originally made through Getaway Girls.” 

With her supportive network behind her, Lana’s attention soon turned to achieving her lifelong dream of becoming an architect. 

“Even back home in Syria, I’d always say I wanted to be an architect, but because of the war education had stopped. Being in that war sparked me to go into architecture because I wanted to make safe buildings where People would feel comfortable. I didn’t know if I would actually be able to study the course, though, because my English was so limited - I had to prepare for GCSEs and A Levels and I didn’t even know if I was going to be able to read by then!” 

Lana’s mentors at Getaway Girls set her up with art projects to nurture her passion for architecture while she worked tirelessly in school to get the grades. Even once her efforts had culminated in an offer to study at University of Leeds, Getaway Girls continued to be a source of support and opportunities. 

“After getting into uni, Getaway Girls were still really helping with my growth and development, because they had DIY SOS in to do their new building and I was able to do my work experience on that project. Through the connections I made on DIY SOS I got a summer placement at an architecture firm, which was amazing for my career and developed my skills a lot.”  

It was also through the DIY SOS project that Lana met interior designer Jo Love, with whom she quickly struck up a working relationship and who is now a trusted mentor. 

“I remember sitting with Jo a lot, asking her questions about jobs, what to do and how to secure opportunities, and she sent me lots of opportunities to apply to. She helped me with my CV and portfolio too, and I would go with her to Getaway Girls and we’d do a workshop about construction, architecture, interior design and so on. It’s not a career many girls go into so it’s been nice for us to show them what they could do in the future.” 

Lana’s hope is that the new Harehills base, aptly named The Hills, will help Getaway Girls to support even more young women to reach their goals. Its unique appeal, she says, is in providing a home-like environment to the girls at such a vulnerable time in their lives. 

Lana graduated from her architecture degree in July 2025, and lost no time securing a year-long job in industry. She then plans to return to University of Leeds for a further year, to become a fully-qualified architect. 

“Getaway Girls have been a big part of my life in the UK. I don't think I can thank them enough really, because I have so many experiences and memories. It felt so grown up and I felt so much more confident.” 

At Places for People, we’re proud to foster “One Community” by supporting grassroots projects across the UK. Through partnerships with organisations like Getaway Girls, we provide funding and volunteers to help to build spaces where everyone feels welcome and included, proving that comparatively small, local efforts can add up to big impact.