Refugee Week 2022: in Review

A huge thank you to everyone who made Refugee Week 2022 at The Comfrey Project so special!

It was wonderful to welcome so many of our volunteers, partners and the wider community. It was a great pleasure to see the centre so lively and vibrant again!

In a year marked by new challenges and adversity, it was tremendously encouraging to see the community come together to celebrate with us, and show that refugees and people seeking asylum are welcome here.

We had a fabulous week of gardening and creative activities, with fantastic support from our partners. Our heartfelt thanks go to:

• Artists Mr Tugiy & Mr Ekrem for sharing their skills at the traditional Turkish arts of Water Marbling and Calligraphy;
• Christine Wright from Royal Horticultural Society, who provided a great appetiser activity for our upcoming collaborative ‘Taste of Home’ project, funded by the National Lottery Community Fund & RHS;
• Barbara Keating from Bees of Bensham, for her fascinating and informative Bee Walks and stall;
• Melisa Maida, who coordinated the ‘Belonging’ Exhibition of Art & Photography, and supported our volunteers to create beautiful works;
• The kids of Crossings Community Group who put on a special music performance to mark the week.
• Gateshead Citizens Advice Bureau, who provided an information stand all about saving on energy costs.

It was great to participate in the launch of Exhibition in Exile at Benwell Church, to take part in the panel and see the exhibition come to life.

The week was rounded off by CommuniTEA, our tea party with a difference. CommuniTEA was originally launched as a digital project for Refugee Week last year, with people enjoying tea and sharing stories from their culture over Zoom. It was a great pleasure to host the Tea Party in person this year, to see people creating their own tea blends on the spot and sharing their stories!

Food from Around the World

Very special thanks go to our team of volunteer cooks, who put together a diverse and mouth-watering range of delicious dishes, representing a different part of the world each day of the week.

We had the pleasure of tasting wonderful food from Latin America (Argentina, Honduras, and El Salvador), the Persian Region, Syria (and other Arabic cuisines), Afghanistan, and Nigeria. Don’t ask us to pick a favourite, they were all amazing!

Thanks to all the volunteers for the Turkish Corner, providing delicious and moreish Turkish coffee, tea, and snacks tirelessly throughout the week.

Check out our Food Gallery at the bottom of the page – we guarantee that your stomach will thank you!