Stories of Hope and Home is made up of a diverse group of participants from all over the world. People from more than 30 different nationalities from across four continents have engaged with our activities. The current or recent lived experience of seeking sanctuary in the UK and building a new home in Birmingham or the wider West Midlands is part of our story: but it certainly does not define everything about who we are. We are of different ages and genders; we have different cultures and faiths; we speak different languages and express different opinions. We have different pasts and we dream of different futures. 

For all the differences between us, we describe ourselves as one family, united by our mutual support and love for one another. We are a caring and close-knit group who know from experience the value of welcome and hospitality and therefore remain constantly open to embracing newcomers to our community.

We meet together twice a week to participate in creative activities, share our stories and support one another. Our sessions are focused around finding ways to express ourselves: through conversation and creative writing: stories, poetry and theatre. We create safe space where we can bring the whole of ourselves: our tears and our frustrations as well as lots of laughter and fun. We often find reasons to celebrate and love an excuse for a party! 

If you are seeking sanctuary, basied in the west midlands and keen to explore and share your story we might be the right fit for you: get in touch!

Our regular sessions include conversation, creative writing and many, many cups of tea. Much of what we produce is just for ourselves, a way of processing and exploring our thoughts and experiences, but we have also done some more extensive creative projects which have been intended for sharing beyond our own community. Here are a few of the highlights:

Soaring with Clipped Wings

Throughout the covid-19 pandemic we, like so many others, were meeting online. We settled into a routine of writing lots of poetry. At some point during that year one of the participants commented, "we should publish this!" which led to us drawing together many of our poems, written individually and collaboratively into a poetry book. 

"Soaring with Clipped Wings", an anthology of our work, was published in time for Refugee Week 2021, and includes the words of 36 people from 22 different countries. Copies of our book are available in all Birmingham's libraries and can be purchased (for £5 plus P&P) to support the ongoing work of our charity. We have also performed poetry at a number of different events, and led poetry workshops in several schools.

Refugee: What do you know about me?

A collaboration with Welsh National Opera and Birmingham REP, over a period of about six months, we worked first with writer Steven Camden, and then with a composer and musicians from Welsh National Opera to write and create a performance based on our lives and experiences. In July 2022, participants performed "Refugee: What do you know about me?"  alongside professional singers and musicians from the Welsh National Opera on the main stage of the Birmingham REP theatre to an audience of around 500 school students, their staff and other invited guests. The feedback from both the performers and the audience was overwhelmingly positive. 

In the Shadow of the Trees

Following the success of our 2022 performance, we devised, wrote and performed an original piece to be performed as part of Birmingham REPs summer festival in 2023, again to an audience predominantly made up of school students. It felt incredibly precious, and a sign of our group's growing creative confidence that all of the ideas, stories, structure and format were worked out collaboratively within the group.  

Trees become the backdrop for exploring memories of places left behind, places passed through on the journey, and the place that gradually becomes a new home with dreams for the future.

We are delighted that the perfomrance is  also now available to view online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVMAazIwlNI

Love is a Rebellion

Our most recent performance at Birmingham REP was once again devised, written and performed entirely by project participants. From the earliest conversations, it became clear that this year, the group were keen to produce a performance that reflected their experience of the UK asylum system. It bore witness to their experience of a hostile system that is designed to isolate and exclude, as well as to the many small acts of love that are, in and of themselves, a rebellion! 

The cast are keen to share the performance with a wider audience, so if you'd like to invite us, we're ready to take it on tour! 

Watch this space for what's next ...