It was a joy to see so many people from the wider Boaz community gather together at Family Night! The evening kicked off with some amazing food from around the world and conversations around tables, before we were treated to a traditional coffee ceremony led by Rahel (who featured in our new film).
For the second part of the evening, we were welcomed into the main hall by dancing and singing from the brilliant WAST (Women Asylum Seekers Together) choir. Throughout the night, we heard various songs performed by the choir. One song which included the lyrics, ‘I am far away from my home, far away’ sung in different languages was particularly powerful, as was the moment at the end of the night when the choir got the whole room on their feet dancing.
It was lovely to hear from our longest standing member of staff (Ros, our Chief Exec), as well as our newest (Hassan, one of our RESS Support Workers). Ros spoke about our 20th anniversary, recognising that we’re still here, despite various challenges we’ve faced as an organisation over the past 20 years.
But she also highlighted the flipside of this - how the fact that we’re still here means the situation for people facing destitution after claiming asylum remains just as urgent (perhaps more so) than when Boaz was founded 20 years ago. In this way, we’ve chosen to mark our 20th anniversary, rather than to celebrate it - to recognise the work that has been done, the community that has been built and the lives that have been impacted through Boaz, while also holding in tension the change we still long to see.
One of the highlights of the evening was hearing from Viktar, who featured in our new film, who spoke so honestly and engagingly to the room. He first spoke specifically to people there who were seeking asylum, who didn’t yet have their leave to remain, saying: “You are not alone and you are not invisible.” He later called those in attendance who haven’t experienced homelessness to imagine, for a moment, what it’s actually like, explaining, “sometimes you don’t know where you are sleeping tonight, or whether you will have food today or tomorrow. So probably, it sounds like a bad day, but it’s part of our life.”
The evening was rounded off by some more performances from the WAST choir, as well as a group photo taken by our excellent photographer for the evening, Jarek Maciejowski. (You can view more photographs of the event on our social media channels: Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn & X)
