Refugee Week: Food and Friendship - a story of compassion & finding your community
Every year, around the country, many people and organisations take part in Refugee Week (RW). Each year, the theme of celebration is different.
This Refugee Week, we reflect on the theme of Compassion which is shared by many of the projects we have supported through our small grants. These projects support and serve the refugee, asylum seeker, and migrant community members in our society who are facing persecution, war, and violence and flee their home countries in hope for sanctuary and a safer future.
Leicester City of Sanctuary organised a Food and Friendship event: A celebration event within Leicester’s half term well attended by families. A meal of pizza and sides was served to all for lunch and donated food and clothes were available to pick up. A space to chat and play games with children’s activities run upstairs with crafts and toys for the little ones. The activity was very well hosted and facilitated with volunteers/staff well known and trusted by the group attending. Service user volunteers were empowered to take the lead on kids activities or be involved in the kitchen making this their space.
A mixture of refugees and asylum seeker families from different countries, largely men and women chatting and playing games downstair whilst service user volunteers and the children played with toys/ children’s activities upstairs.
Similar to the above events, the project created further opportunities for refugees and asylum seekers to come together, develop friendships, and learn new skills. They empowered many individuals and families, alike. Such is a story of Lilly*, who received compassion and support from Leicester City of Sanctuary after she arrived in the UK, having known no one and without any community to call her own. Lilly shares, “When you come to a country and are brand new it can be lonely and hard to know where to find the right information. I’m from Yemen and was living in a house when I first arrived but I knew nobody and did not have the language.
I would go to the shop but even that was hard.
I found myself starting out of the window. I’m not the only one, there are a lot of stories like this and when a friend did tell me about City of Sanctuary, I came down here to find it, the next day it has become my place… More people should know about the Sanctuary, my life changed because of this place. To know there is somewhere you can feel part of a community.”
For Lilly, small things made a huge impact on her life, she explains, “I’ve met a lot of people from different countries and feel comfortable and happy making new friends. Just to sit together/ sharing our stories. Shali makes this place feel relaxed and comfortable after stresses during the week, coming here is really important for me.”
“This place is my friends and my family.” - Lilly
It’s not only that Lilly found friendships having being part of the Leicester City of Sanctuary, she also gained skills and improved her language skills. She shares, “I’ve gained so many skills particularly communication. I was almost locked away before I came down here to the City of Sanctuary and English courses were key for me. Recently the trips and learning more about the things you can do together as a family in Leicester has been great.”
One experience that Lilly appreciated is a trip to Skegness, she reflected. “Going to the park or museum that’s free you just wouldn’t know that you could do this. A life changing trip was going to Skegness to see the sea again like you can back in my home country.”
Being in a new area was not easy at first for Lilly, however, the newly formed friendships created a sense of belonging for her that it has now made her feel part of the wider community. She reflects, “I love Leicester more and feel I belong here after coming along to the City of Sanctuary.”
Lilly says, “… so important to have people around you and that’s what I did not have when I first came to Leicester those years ago.
I’ll keep coming along to the events here when I can, definitely.”
The person in the story would like to keep their identity private, Lilly is not their real name*