A woman whose volunteer-led initiative has helped hundreds of newcomers to the Isle of Man learn English and feel at home has celebrated receiving her British Empire Medal (BEM).

It was announced in June that Karen Norton was to be awarded the medal for outstanding services to English learning in the Isle of Man.

Earlier this month, on October 8, she received the honour from Lieutenant Governor Sir John Lorimer at a ceremony at Government House.

His Excellency and Lady Lorimer welcomed around 50 of Mrs Norton’s family and friends to celebrate the achievement, which recognised her dedication to community integration and language education in the island.

And in a speech, she said she was ‘honoured and deeply humbled’ to receive such a prestigious award.

She said: ‘How lucky I am to have been born and raised on this beautiful island, with its strong sense of community and identity – defined by the sea, but also looking beyond it.

‘How lucky I am to have had instilled in me from early childhood a strong work ethic, an awareness of the needs of others and an even stronger sense of fun.

‘Anything I’ve achieved (in teaching, in leading Café Lingo, or anything else) has been down to faith, love and teamwork – I’m privileged to have learned from the best!’

But the celebrations did not end there.

Later that same week Karen returned to Café Lingo, the community project she founded, to thank the many students, volunteers, family and friends who have supported her work.

During the event, she was presented with a symbolic olive tree of peace by those who have benefited from the initiative.

A former primary school teacher, specialising in supporting children with additional needs, Mrs Norton dedicated her professional life to education in both Merseyside and the Isle of Man.

After retiring from Kewaigue Primary School, she turned her attention to a growing local need, helping newcomers overcome language barriers and find a sense of belonging.

In response, she founded Café Lingo, a volunteer-led scheme offering free English lessons and practical support to immigrants from across the world.

Over the past nine years, she devoted more than 35 hours each week to the project, supporting more than 500 people from 48 different countries.

Café Lingo quickly became a place not just for learning, but for building friendships, confidence and connection.

Speaking to Media Isle of Man, Mrs Norton said: ‘It was wonderful to return to Cafe Lingo to celebrate my BEM investiture and see so many familiar faces.

‘As well as family and friends, there were people from the island and all around the world - students, their children and many volunteers, including some from Cafe Lingo’s inception in 2016, and new faces too.’

She added: ‘After a humorous quiz and a lot of cake, students shared heart-warming reflections on what Cafe Lingo meant to them, how it helped their confidence to communicate in English, understand the island’s history and culture, build friendships and integrate.

‘What we all shared in common was the happiness of being together in a friendly, safe, relaxed environment.’

Mrs Norton described the olive tree she was gifted as a particularly meaningful symbol.

‘Its canopy was almost perfectly global in shape and it was already bearing fruit,’ she said.

‘At a time of war and tribal tensions in the world and an increase in xenophobic unkindnesses being expressed - sadly, even among a very small minority of people in the Isle of Man - it was so rewarding to be given such a lovely symbol of peace and human connection.’

Reflecting on Café Lingo’s journey, Mrs Norton said she would never forget ‘the very first day we opened our doors, with five hesitant students and six enthusiastic volunteers,’ nor the joy of hearing students later ‘repeating English in my own Manx accent’.

The language service saw a surge in demand thanks to those who had arrived to the island from Ukraine, and Karen previously explained how incredible it was to be a part of that from the start, despite having problems of their own.

She said: ‘There’s a lot of individual highlights but that was the big one really.

‘When the Russia-Ukraine war started, we were in the middle of a sort of a difficult health matter going on within our family, and it was actually tempting to step back. But when we saw there was a lot of Ukrainians coming over, we realised that there was something Cafe Lingo could do because we were a group that was already set up to help and support people in a friendly way.

‘Obviously the Isle of Man government responded, they set up the Ukraine support scheme who are fantastic, but we were a sort of support group ourselves and we worked on various levels, if you like, we have lots of layers, and had a good group of volunteers on hand along with an existing group of students.

‘Students have told us they tend to regard Cafe Lingo as their Manx family, and we thought this is actually something that would be good to offer Ukrainians.’

After deciding to offer their services to Ukrainians coming to the island, Karen and Tim saw around 100 people from the Eastern European country come to their doors, and a lot of them still do now.’

Though now retired, she continues to support the project and praised its new leadership team.

‘I know that, under the dedicated leadership of Sylvie Géal-Wilkes and Sharon Jones, with such a team of kind and friendly volunteers, Café Lingo is in safe hands.’

Encouraging others to get involved, she added: ‘If you’re considering going to Cafe Lingo as a new student or a potential volunteer, there is no need to hesitate.

‘Just go along to Cafe Lingo in the top hall of Promenade Methodist Church in Douglas between 10.45am and midday on Saturday mornings and speak to Sylvie, Sharon or one of the other excellent volunteers.

‘You’re assured of a warm welcome and I think you’ll love it!’