We had a very sunny and joyful storywalk joined by the DMCS Deaf community last week! Thank you to our women for so beautifully weaving personal journeys and diverse cultures into the local history of Greenwich, showing us all how our roots connect us. Thanks to The National Lottery Heritage Fund

Reading through your messages from our 10th anniversary event and feeling incredibly grateful. Thank you for all the love and kind words and for being a part of this journey💚🧡💛 Huge thank you to the @tnlcommunityfund.org.uk for funding our special event ✨💚💚

Last week we had a very informative and supportive session with Greenwich Time to Talk on preparing for menopause. 🌸 We learned a lot and hearing experiences shared within the group helped others know what to expect and reassured them that they're not alone. 🫂 Thanks to Greenwich Mental Health Hub 💜

"It all started with a seed in my mind many years ago. 🌱At the time, I did not know exactly what Creating Ground would become. But I knew I wanted us migrant women to feel seen, valued, and powerful.✨What we are achieving together has been, and continues to be, truly amazing." Laura Marziale, 18 May

On Monday, we celebrated 10 years of creativity, connection, campaigning and community with wonderful art displays, performances, storytelling, and reflection 💫💛 Thank you to every member, facilitator, partner, supporter, friends & family who have been part of this journey over the last decade 🙏

✨ Our Dance group will share a very special & energetic routine on our anniversary theme: 'Rooted and Rising'🌿 Filled with joy, energy, connection, positivity&love! 💃🎉 Thanks to Protein Dance's Rachele Rapisardi & Yuyu Rau Huge thanks to @tnlcommunityfund.org.uk for supporting this project 💞💞

✨ Yesterday’s candle-making session was absolutely amazing! 🕯️ There’s something truly satisfying about creating your own candle and imagining it filling a room with warmth, peace, and positive energy. 💛 Thanks to our wonderful facilitator Luna and to Greenwich Mental Health Hub 🌸

🎉 5 days to our 10-year celebration!🎭Our Stronger Together Leaders & Theatre in Action members are co-creating a powerful performance celebrating past social action projects. 🎬 Here some screenshots from their rehearsals! Thank you @lydiapowell.bsky.social for the sound & University of Greenwich💚

Thank you to our wonderful women for so beautifully weaving your personal stories with local history on a Storywalk last week, sharing the links you found between British and your own heritage. 🧵✨ Huge thanks to The National Lottery Heritage Fund 💜

Another amazing Walk for Wellbeing, this time exploring Lesnes Abbey Wood! We reflected on what happens when we look at familiar things for a second time. To join our next walk, email 📧 [email protected] Thank you to our funders TFL & @groundworklondon.bsky.social 🤗

This week’s chair-based Gentle Stretching session showed how simple movements can make a big difference - helping improve mobility, flexibility, and strength while also supporting relaxation and wellbeing. 🧘‍♀️💆‍♂️🪑 Huge thanks to Sylwia and @tnlcommunityfund.org.uk 💗💙

The energy is building behind the scenes for our 10th Anniversary celebration 🌿🌲! Our incredible team of directors, facilitators, project managers, and members has come together with passion and purpose sharing ideas, creativity, resources and care to make this milestone truly special 🎉 Join us!!

We are excited to invite you to 'Our World Heritage' Storywalk! Join us for a gentle-paced, 2-hour stroll along the river as we share short stories. We'll start at the Cutty Sark and finish up at the Maritime Museum. ⛵️✨ Please reserve a place by emailing Rose at [email protected]. 💛

What a joy to start Together for Wellbeing sessions this week, funded by Greenwich Mental Health Hub @selmindcharity.bsky.social 🌟 Playfulness, creativity, and art to help us all feel lighter, connected, and uplifted. Also, it was lovely to welcome our new members - we can’t wait for next week ✨🎨

We kicked off our heritage session 🥁🪘 with an uplifting drumming experience, where the rhythms echoed like a heartbeat, helping us connect in a meaningful and memorable way 🧩 We’re now back at work, shaping our stories for our Storywalk performances, reflecting on our heritage, history, and culture!

"Every step and gesture brought a new wave of energy, allowing us to express ourselves without words. It was a moment where we could let go, feel connected and simply enjoy being present, filling the experience with warmth and positivity." We are back dancing together again! Rooted and Rising 🌱

🌱 Spring has officially arrived, and so has our April Newsletter! In our latest update, you'll find: 🎭 Highlights from our projects 🌿 Dates and details to join our Wellbeing projects 🎟️ Link to FREE tickets to our 10th Anniversary event Read here: www.theground.org.uk/so/59Pr9UwYn...

We enjoyed our second Walk for Wellbeing, exploring Oxleas Woods and themes of spring & renewal.🪻 🌿"Sometimes, beauty isn’t in what is blooming, but in how we notice and hold what has already passed."🌿 Message to join next time 🤗 Grateful to our funders Transport For London and Groundwork London.

"When we reach higher, we can hold and grab others with us. It's not only for ourselves." ✨ For our final session of Creativity for Wellbeing we reflected on what rising means to us through creating and painting a tree - understanding that we must be grounded to reach high. 🌿

In our Heritage we had the chance to connect with nature 🍃 at Plot 9 Maze Hill while enjoying the unique experience of cooking over an open fire and sharing our stories. 🫕 Conjuring and creating memories but also connecting with each other 🏕️ Thanks to The National Lottery Heritage Fund

If you’re looking for a safe space to breathe, create, and connect, come join us for Together for Wellbeing.🧡 These are weekly creative sessions specifically for migrant women. We’ll be using creativity as a tool for self-care and building confidence together in a relaxed, supportive environment. 🎨

In Creativity for Wellbeing we tore up paper and worked together to reconstruct it into colourful art. "No matter what life throws at you, you can actually make something meaningful out of it. Don't give up." Thanks to all the women who shared. Our artwork is a daily reminder of our resilience! 💚

A beautiful first Walk for Wellbeing 🌿 Thanks to everyone who joined us! The energy was incredibly special. From the calming breeze off the Thames to beautiful views from Galleons Hill - a perfect day to connect with nature and each other. Thanks to #WalkCycleLDN @groundworklondon.bsky.social 💚

A huge thank you to our incredible guest facilitator Luna for leading such a wonderful stitching session! 🧵 It was so special to see everyone creating and connecting. We can't wait for the next one. ✨ We are so grateful to @tnlcommunityfund.org.uk for making this project possible! 💛

Hearts full after last night. ❤️ We spent the session crafting, laughing, and sharing stories about small acts of kindness. It is amazing to connect through crafting in an online space, each of us creating something beautiful. Huge thanks to @tnlcommunityfund.org.uk 💖

As part of our reflection of what being 'rooted' means to us, in our Creativity for Wellbeing session we explored identity through our hands. Clay became a language of possibility, something that can be shaped, broken apart, rebuilt, and transformed.

For our 10th Anniversary, Lydia is training our Stronger Together Leaders to become 'Creating Ground Archivists' who will be diving deep into the history of CG to uncover the stories, photos, and moments that made us who we are. Huge thanks to the @tnlcommunityfund.org.uk ✨

We are so excited to launch our new project: Walks for Wellbeing 🌿 A free project for migrant women in Greenwich to: Meet new people Explore the local area Relax and be creative in nature 📅 First Walk: Friday 27th Feb A huge thank you to our funders for making this possible #WalkCycleLDN

Today in Creativity for Wellbeing we decorated our own treasure box and reflected on how it can be both a container for our art work, and also the container of our feelings, wishes, hopes and reflections. "My box represents my country and inside I have put my family to be safe" 💛

What an incredible session! 🎬 A massive thank you to Anna for leading such an inspiring Mobile Filmmaking Workshop as part of our Heritage project. Showing us that you don't need a huge budget to tell a powerful story - just the phone in your pocket and a bit of vision. 📱✨

Back in the flow 💫 There is nothing quite like the energy of being back together dancing after the festive break, focusing on the theme of our 10th anniversary - Rooted and Rising 🌱 "Dance is more than movement, it is life itself." Huge thanks to @tnlcommunityfund.org.uk 🌟

Good to be back in each other's company as part of our Heritage Project ✨ We spent the morning shortlisting places we'd like to visit. Then got stuck into some nut-cracking - discussing their origins, and Rich shared stories from Greenwich Heritage. Thanks to The National Lottery Heritage Fund 🗺️

Are you a migrant woman living in Greenwich? Looking for a way to relax, connect with others, and improve your wellbeing? Join us every Wednesday (10:30–12:30) for our Creativity for Wellbeing project! To join or find out more please email Rose at [email protected]

As we pause our activities for the festive break, we want to thank all our members, partners and supporters for everything you bring to our community ✨ We’re really looking forward to starting our activities again in the new year! Wishing you a restful, joyful and mindful festive break! 🎄✨

This week we were stirring our senses through cooking as part of our Heritage Project 🍲✨ We had the space to reconnect with our roots, and the traditions we grew up with - cooking reminded us that our heritage lives on in our hands and hearts. Huge thanks to The National Lottery Heritage Fund 💛

Thank you English for Action for inviting us to this week’s English Language Fair 💛 It was packed and full of energy! We loved meeting so many new people and sharing what we do at Creating Ground. If you’re a migrant woman in SE London, check our activities and get in touch ✨

✨ Our November newsletter is ready for you! ✨ Catch up on our latest updates, upcoming projects, and our timetable for next term here: theground.org.uk/so/30Ph5xPqe...

“Our session with the musicians was unforgettable. We danced freely, laughed wholeheartedly and enjoyed every second together." Thanks to the incredible orchestra Arch Sinfonia for leading such a beautiful session. All made possible thanks to @tnlcommunityfund.org.uk 🩷

Every Monday we get together for our dance sessions which are full of rhythm, joy, enthusiasm and great vibes! “By the end, we were all glowing with happiness and gratitude for the art of dance.” Thanks to our dance facilitator Rachele and @tnlcommunityfund.org.uk for supporting us 💕🫶💃🏻

This week we worked with willow & hazel sticks to make a variety of small houses. This led to sharing stories, songs and images of houses 'back home' "Every session reveals unique stories and experiences...our home, culture, memories, our identities" Thanks to The National Lottery Heritage Fund 💙

Huge thanks to Luna Cohen for the special session on Embellishing Jumpers 🧥👕 We explored stitching, beading, and decorative techniques to personalise our jumpers and hats, creating something unique and meaningful! Thanks to @tnlcommunityfund.org.uk for making this possible 🩷

“The best session I ever attended in the council (in 8 years working with RBG)” So happy to deliver a Together with Migrants training session for @royalgreenwich.bsky.social staff as part of their work as a Borough of Sanctuary. Opportunities like this are precious and can spark big change.

Project update! This week in our heritage project we shared stories ... 🌙 of childhood games 🌽 of life on the farm 👣 of migration journeys long and short By the end each of us said proudly: "I am a storyteller" 🌟 Huge thanks to The National Lottery Heritage Fund for making this project possible!

“My voice in the choir became a part of something bigger.” “There isn't such a thing as too much singing” We had a beautiful session today with Francezco and Gloria from Citizens of the World Choir today! Huge thanks to @tnlcommunityfund.org.uk for supporting us in our creative endeavours 💗

This week in our heritage project we: 🇯🇲 Put Jamaica (“big island”) on our Heritage Map 🎥 We looked at film of making model boats for a history project in 2023 ✨ We shared oral history - remembering folk tales, poems and memories Thanks to The National Lottery Heritage for your vital support 💙

🍂 Our October round-up is ready for you! 🍂 Read our latest news here: www.theground.org.uk/so/71Peqh0Qp...

🌷 We're looking for migrant mums to join our exciting new project Arts with Mums, starting on 14th November 🌷 This is a project for migrant mums at any stage of their motherhood journey! To sign up or refer someone please email Rose at [email protected]

Attending the South London @citizensuk.org assembly this week was a great reminder of our collective strength. These words from a poem by Aditi Banerjee resonated a lot: "In a world of mounting fear, we are the voices building hope." 🌸

⚡Fantastic win for our #NoticeUs campaign!⚡ Together with @trustforlondon.bsky.social , @citizensuk.org and other allies, we've been campaigning for better conditions in TA including the Five Basics: cooking facilities, laundry facilities, WiFi, storage & clear communication.

We've been going deeper into exploring our heritage - responding to visual imagery and sharing memories. "Reminds me of my country. Nature, river flowing, lakes, beautiful forest and rocks, and my dream place." Thanks to The National Lottery Heritage Fund for making this project possible 💙