30 September 2023. The last day of September marked a double celebration at WBI: our monthly Food with Friends event coincided with our second anniversary as a CIC.
WBI launched Food with Friends in the winter of 2022 with support from Portsmouth City Council’s Community Inclusion Grant. Thanks to funding from the National Lottery Community Fund, since July 2023 we started the second run of the project.
Food with Friends creates a space for community cohesion – a healthy warm meal combined with health education, improving well-being by connecting with the community.
We are extremely grateful to Abd Alsalam Alsaleh, medical doctor in training, who gave an informative talk on lung health. And to Health Inequalities Lead, Shipa Ahmed Khan, from Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust for her interactive presentation on health inequalities, prompting a lively discussion.
Ever since we created this space, there has been kindness, empowerment and a sense of belonging within the WBI community of friends. Participants offer to volunteer for us during the events, contributing their valuable skills as interpreters and photographers.
Bilingual migrants serve as important bridges to their own communities and enhance the engagement of the participants during the health talks and follow up Q&A sessions. This point was also emphasised in Shipa Ahmed Khan’s presentation underlining the importance of interpreters to ensure equitable services.
Always heartwarming to see previous participants bringing along newly arrived friends to FwF and connecting them to our projects.
Food, in many cultures, is the reason to gather people to celebrate being part of a community. At FwF, food is what brings us together to celebrate each other’s unique background and to increase health awareness.
WBI is honoured to celebrate our 2nd anniversary with the community which we foster and we belong to. Thank you everyone for supporting us all the way. Happy Birthday to us.
