Salma, Nancy and Zainab who have helped organised Refugee Week activities in BwD
Published Friday 13 June 2025 at 13:06
A team of three women who came to Blackburn with Darwen as refugees are behind the borough’s plans to mark Refugee Week.
Nancy Kinyanjui who works for Kairos Housing, Salma Mohamed from ARC and Zainab Elbusefi from DARE have been collaborating with Blackburn with Darwen Council and other local partners to compile a week of events and activities.
Nancy Kinyanjui commented:
It’s important to us to mark Refugee Week in Blackburn with Darwen, the place that we have made our home. Refugee Week aims to encourage people to learn more about the experiences of refugees, to help them gain a deeper understanding of what refugees go through, and the contributions we make to local life.
Refugee Week, which runs from 16 to 22 June, is the world’s largest arts and culture festival celebrating the contributions, creativity and resilience of refugees. Throughout the week, a variety of free events and activities are taking place in Blackburn with Darwen, with the aim of helping people understand more about the experiences of refugees.
The Photo Voices exhibition will be on display in Blackburn Central Library featuring photographs taken by refugees who have made their home in Blackburn with Darwen.
This photography exhibition was inspired by the Benjamin Zephania poem ‘We Refugees’ which features the line ‘I come from a beautiful place’. Originally an NHS led project to address the complex health needs of refugees, the Photo Voices exhibition explored refugees’ relationships with places in their new home countries.
The Photo Voices exhibition is free to visit on the ground floor of the library, and open during normal library opening hours: Monday 10am to 7pm, Tuesday to Friday 10am to 5pm and Saturday 10am to 4pm, until Saturday 21 June.
On Monday 16 June, Blackburn-based Kairos Housing will launch a Refugee Week magazine, featuring stories of people who have had to flee their home countries and have found sanctuary in the borough. Kairos will also premier a short film of refugees and asylum seekers reciting their poem ‘Together We Are’. Written in collaboration with local poet Nathan Parker over a series of workshops, the poem explores their experiences of leaving their native countries and setting in Blackburn with Darwen.
Refugee support service ARC is throwing open their doors in Wesley Hall on Feilden Street in Blackburn on Tuesday 17 June for an international food festival, following a drama performance by St Bede’s High School pupils exploring the life of a refugee.
DARE in Darwen are inviting people to join their Global Tea Extravaganza on Wednesday 18 June, at their base in the Central United Reformed Church on Duckworth Street in Darwen.
Families will have an opportunity to come together in Blackburn Museum on Friday 20 June, for a Shared Sounds interactive musical workshop for children under the age of five.
The museum will also host a very special evening of art and culture on Friday evening, celebrating art and culture from local refugee communities. There will be artwork from the Blackburn with Darwen Refugee Artist Alliance, and a series of short films and poetry. Plus, attendees are encouraged to wear their traditional national dress for a photo opportunity with Obscura Darkroom. Everyone is welcome to come along and enjoy this cultural evening.
Full details of Refugee Week activities in Blackburn with Darwen are in the table below.
Refugee Week activities in Blackburn with Darwen have been co-ordinated by the Council’s Integration and Community Engagement team working with a range of partners, including Kairos Housing, ARC, Dare, Community Harmony and Lancashire Wildlife Trust.
Councillor Phil Riley, Leader of Blackburn with Darwen Council, said:
The theme of Refugee Week this year is ‘Community as a Superpower theme’ in recognition of the strong bonds and connections that can be made when we make others feel welcome. It makes me proud that in Blackburn with Darwen we have a good number of organisations and charities who work hard to make refugees feel welcome. These are people who have had to leave their homes not by choice, but through fear of persecution or war.
I’m looking forward to being a part of the borough’s Refugee Week events, and learning more from the perspective of our local refugee communities.
Here are full details of the Refugee Week activities in Blackburn with Darwen:
Filed under : events | Refugee Week | refugees | social integration