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Meet Jess Thompson: the social enterprise founder using food to support refugees by Hannah Mendelsohn written for Melting Pot Mag “Our society would not be as interesting without the influence of migrant cultures,” says Jess Thompson, 27. This is something she’s working to celebrate with the charity, Migrateful, that she set up in 2017. The organisation helps London-based refugees get on their feet through training them as chefs. They then teach classes on how to Read more…

Time to Life the Ban “I keep referring to myself as a prisoner… There are no bars and I don’t have the uniform to wear every day, but everything else is the same. Even prisoners – they have a passport, they have a place to call home when they get out” *This post contains distressing content* Dear the Home Office, I turned 35 in 2018. I was just a child when I arrived to this country, Read more…

Imagine. You live in a stranger’s home. They are kind to you, but you can never forget it is their good will alone that keeps you here. It’s better than the street. Some days you stay in bed until 2pm, because it’s not like you have anything else to do. You eat food bought by your host, you cook meals, clean and take the bins out – because it’s the only thing you have to Read more…

Migrateful Christmas Party 2018 The office festive party season is in full swing, with employees up and down the country letting their hair down for the usual traditions: donning Christmas jumpers, overindulging in booze, and dancing the night away to cheesy hits. The Migrateful Christmas-do was somewhat of a different affair. There wasn’t a single Christmas jumper in sight as our chefs and volunteers instead opted for their aprons, taking part in one final showcase Read more…

Woin’s used to skepticism from dedicated meat-eaters, but she’s out to convince the world that vegan food can be varied, delicious and accessible. And as an Orthodox Christian who avoids meat on for more than two-thirds of the year, she’s armed with plenty of recipes to convince the naysayers. She recently worked her magic on a community centre in Bromley by Bow, who had said they wanted meat for their event because they thought vegan Read more…

Siege Soup for Syria: Monday 27th November 7 – 9pm Pembroke House, SE17 1QR This evenings line up: We will serve siege soup followed by a presentation from Migrateful chef and Syrian civil rights activist Majeda Khouri about the Syrian siege. We will have a Skype call from Dr Mohamed Khatob living in Turkey who was inside Ghouta when the siege began and then with Nivin Hotary, mother, teacher and activist who’s inside the surrounded area Read more…

Some anthropologists say that sharing food is what makes us human. There’s nothing else we do that is so central to making us feel part of a group. Sharing food is an opportunity to physically support each other and to share companionship through mealtime conversation. A companion, deriving from the Spanish “con pan” meaning “with bread”, is someone with whom to share your bread. Research shows that the tradition of eating together as a family Read more…

In her poignant talk Jess explores the privilege of home and introduces us to people who have been forced to leave theirs with little hope of ever returning. With stories of people she has met through working with migrant communities in the UK and abroad, Jess reminds us that today, perhaps more than ever before, those who can leave and come back need to be more mindful of those who cannot.

Overcoming ethnic tensions in one of the UK’s lowest-income council estates As part of the Year Here Fellowship, our team was asked to carry out a two-month consultancy project in the Meadows Estate, one of the most deprived estates in the UK. Home to 1755 residents, the estate is located in the borough of Hounslow, famed for its appearance in the film Bend It Like Beckham. Conversations are often interrupted by the unbearably loud sound of an Read more…

I want to live in a society where the likes of Jolanta, Claudia, Leonor, Ahmad and Noor can feel fully integrated members of our community. This is what inspired me to start the Beyond English Club which became a form of group therapy for everyone, myself included. For example, we took time defining words like home, community, equality, violence, peace, loneliness, family and integration. One session discussing romantic love, they ask me if I’m married. “No I’m single”. I share that Read more…