Delivered by Stories & Supper
In 2023, the Foundation for Future London has awarded a grant to Stories and Supper for its project “Cultivating Solidarities project ” to celebrate Refugee Week with Waltham Forest schoolchildren, through creative writing workshops and allotment story sharing sessions, bringing refugees and pupils together to challenge assumptions about migration through our Small Grant Scheme.
The Small Grant Scheme is art of our Westfield East Bank Creative Futures Fund, funded by Westfield Stratford City.
The Cultivating Solidarities project will celebrate Refugee Week with Waltham Forest schoolchildren, through creative writing workshops and allotment story sharing sessions, bringing refugees and pupils together to challenge assumptions about migration.
The issue of forced migration attracts much negative attention, contributing to a hostile environment for people seeking sanctuary. Our work challenges these narratives, creating spaces for welcome and encounter, breaking down barriers between refugees and the communities in which they settle. This intergenerational project will work in partnership with local schools to bring people with lived experience of forced migration and young residents together, harnessing the power of stories, growing and food, and equipping young people with the knowledge to act as agents of change, becoming refugee allies.
In 2021, we ran creative writing workshops in three Waltham Forest secondary schools. This project allows us to build on that success. During Refugee Week in June 2023, we will run creative writing workshops at two secondary schools – Walthamstow School for Girls and Leytonstone, and two primaries – Henry Maynard and Stoneydown Park. We also will take pupils to our plot at Higham Hill Common Allotments.
This project will offer diverse school communities (many from families with migration experience) the opportunity to meet people with lived experience of displacement. Pupils will gain skills in creative writing, developing confidence in self-expression and communication. Meanwhile, the allotment sessions will teach them about the journey from seed to plate and introduce them to the skills needed to grow food. Refugees/asylum seekers will be trained to design and deliver the project, gaining skills in facilitation and leadership. The sessions will allow refugee leaders to share their lived experience as well as their own skills in creative writing and horticulture. We hope the project will be replicated in other schools and in future years.
To take part, please email helen@storiesandsupper.co.uk.
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