December is always a nostalgic time of year for Routes...
In 2017 we were launching Routes at Year Here’s Crowdbacker event and, a year later, in December 2018 we were celebrating the end of our first mentoring and theatre programmes at the Young Vic, accompanied by the delicious smells of fresh cooking and the occasional burst of song. Now, in December 2019 we are celebrating another extraordinary year at Routes: our community has grown and we’ve nurtured even more joyful, welcoming and compassionate connections across London. Here’s what we’ve been up to...
In February 2019…
we started running our drop in workshops at the Young Vic’s Platform Southwark, welcoming up to 25 women each week to play, create, laugh and learn together. Supported by amazing volunteers and nourished by the Bread Station, we built a creative community that grew week on week.
In March and April 2019...
we were invited by the very generous National Theatre and Nimax Theatres to see the awe-inspiring Small Island (NT) and Emilia (Nimax). Both shows were beautifully moving and we had truly amazing evenings at both!
“I liked the broad appeal of the play, written by women for women at a time when they had little voice. So impressed by the character of Emilia on stage at all times during the performance, it well deserved the standing ovation when the play finished.” (Karlene)
In May 2019...
we launched our second mentoring programme, pairing 22 professional women with 22 women from refugee backgrounds for four months of mentoring. Together, the pairs worked towards their mentees’ goals, ranging from CV writing and attending interviews, to general confidence building, digital skills, language development and much more. Read Luba’s account of her mentoring journey.
In June 2019...
we were generously enabled by donations from the wider community of Routes supporters to launch a series of Refugee Week activities, bringing together women seeking safety across London to join us in a movement workshop, a self defence workshop and a theatre trip to see Phosphoros Theatre’s brilliant Pizza Shop Heroes.
In August 2019...
it was time to celebrate the end of our second cohort’s mentoring journeys. We came together at Second Home Holland Park to reflect, look forwards and catch up over drinks and snacks with all mentors and mentees. It was very special to hear how many new compassionate and caring relationships had been built since we all first met in summer. Read Sophie’s account of her mentoring journey.
“We all get absorbed in our day to day lives… through programs like Routes you are able to step outside of your comfort zone and take on the challenge of making a difference.” (Nahida Rahman, mentor)
In September 2019...
we started a 10 week programme at the Arcola Theatre, facilitated by the brilliantly passionate Lateisha Davine Lovelace Hanson alongside the wonderful writer Eva Edo, supported by Alessandra Davison. The programme brought together 16 women from refugee backgrounds to explore, create, share, listen, move, dream, sing and laugh together every Monday morning, working towards a beautiful sharing performance in December. See more photos on our Instagram.
In October 2019...
we challenged theatres across London and beyond to reflect on how theatres can be spaces of welcome for people seeking safety in the UK. In a conference held at the National Theatre, we brought together theatres, NGOs, practitioners, grassroots organisations and individuals with lived experience of the asylum system to discuss how more theatres can and should engage in the work of creating welcome. We heard from the British Red Cross, Phosphoros Theatre, Compass Collective, Young Vic, Leeds Playhouse, Counterpoints Arts, Good Chance, as well as some of the Routes community. The room was left buzzing and we’ve loved watching how different organisations have actioned their learnings from the day. Read more about the event on Twitter.
Also in October 2019…
we launched our third mentoring programme! We’ve brought together 16 pairs this time around, training and supporting 16 professional women to support 16 brilliant mentees to achieve their personal and professional goals. We’ve partnered with two amazing organisations on this programme, Happy Baby Community and Migrant Help. The progress already being made by mentoring pairs is astounding and we can’t wait to celebrate their journeys with them in February next year!
In November 2019...
we were invited by the wonderful Phyllida Lloyd to watch Tina: the Musical at London’s Aldwych Theatre. We sang our hearts out, we laughed and we cried and... we were lucky enough to share a drink with Phyllida and cast member Ed after the show, which very quickly turned into a group sing-along! We discussed why access to theatre and the Arts is so important for people who are seeking safety in the UK, especially those seeking asylum who do not have the right to work, receiving only £5.39 a day from the government, which barely even covers travel costs in London.
And finally, in December 2019...
we celebrated the end of the year with ‘I Am Alive - the Power of Women’ at the Arcola Theatre, after 10 weeks together. 70 audience members gathered to watch the phenomenal cast of women share their stories, poems, songs, paintings and more. Watch this space for photos coming soon!
If you’ve made it this far, thank you for reading! And if you are one of the many people who has joined us, supported us, followed us on social media, donated to us or simply taken interest in the work we do… an extra big thank you to you.
This month, we learnt that we are set to face at least another five years of hostility, austerity, injustice and discrimination in the UK. It is in these times that we need communities of hope, joy, patience and compassion more than ever. We need people - alone and together - to step up in the place of a government that persistently overlooks and mistreats people of colour, refugees and asylum seekers, women, children, people on low income, parents and carers, and other minority communities across the UK. In 2020, we are calling on you to connect with the neighbours in your communities, to reach out and spend time with people who have different life experiences to you, and (if you are able to) to support the small organisations plugging the massive holes in whatever ways you can.
Let’s come together to ensure that the next five years (and beyond) are defined by community, solidarity and compassion.