Spreading the Scheherazade model across London

​Following the success of our first pilot project in the UK, in partnership with Ealing Council, we were pleased to receive a second round of National Lottery funding to expand our work into not just one, but three boroughs across London.  The new phase of ‘Lina’s Story’ will now be running workshops in Ealing, Hammersmith and Ilford and we are also looking for partners interested in hosting our play of that same name within their community.
 
Lina’s Story focused on the challenges that Lina, a young Syrian woman, faces when she moves to London – negotiating the bureaucracy of refugee resettlement, challenges accessing social services such as healthcare, and the changes in the balance of power in her marriage with new gender expectations.  The play has, so far, been performed in Ealing and at the Migration Museum as part of their Refugee Week celebrations.  ‘Lina’s Story’ is an interactive Forum Theatre piece that invites audience members to step into the action of Lina’s life and look at different ways that she might address the challenges that she faces. 
 
We are excited to now be training new facilitators for the expansion of our work, recruiting refugee women themselves as facilitators and offering them training in workshop leadership and facilitation as well as earned-income to support their families.  This is how we intend to grow Scheherazade across the UK and, ultimately, globally, by creating a network of empowered peers to facilitate our workshops.
 
The following video shares some footage of our performance at the Migration Museum as well as feedback from participants on the impact the workshop has had on them.

​And please feel free to share more information about our upcoming courses with your network:
 

​If you would be interested in partnering with Scheherazade for the expanded rollout of our programmes, or know others who might be, please contact Caroline for more information.