City of London"s City Bridge Trust " which uses surpluses fromthe City bridges to help London causes - has granted The AfghanAssociation Paiwand, £90,000 to help improve the lives ofLondon-based Afghan refugees and asylum seekers suffering fromtrauma. 'Paiwand" meaning 'unity" is the Association"s principal objectivein providing support to Afghan and other refugee communities livingin London - helping to integrate those communities into wider UKsociety. Billy Dove MBE JP, Chairman of the City of London Corporation"sCity Bridge Trust Committee said: "Many Afghan people now live in north west London, some having hadto flee their homeland for fear of retribution for their workalongside the Western forces. City Bridge Trust funding is for amental health worker to assist Afghan and other refugee communitiesthat have experienced trauma to overcome their difficulties.The project will work closely with healthcare professionals so thatpeople can get the best possible support." Since the war in Afghanistan, the number of refugees living inNorth West London has increased substantially. It is estimatedthere are now 9,000 Afghans in the three boroughs of Brent, Harrowand Ealing. Many Afghans view mental health problems as a'weakness" and so are reluctant to admit to having difficulties orseek help. Farid Mall of the Afghan Association Paiwand, said: "Thisgrant will help us to make a real difference to the mental healthof Afghan refugees who are overcoming trauma and distress andre-building their lives." Last year the City Bridge Trust made 228 grants to Londoncharities, totalling £16.8milion and between 1995 and 2011 itgranted over £250 million to London charities. The Trust"s origins can be traced back to 1097 when William Rufus,second son of William the Conqueror, raised a special tax to helprepair the wooden London bridge. In 1176 the first stone bridgeacross the river Thames began and that bridge, with its 19 arches,was completed 33 years later in 1209.