DEWA Project

Wishing a blessed Islamic New Year to those celebrating.

Looking back at this work sixteen years later feels deeply emotional.

In 2010, Different Cultures. One World: Women’s Voices from South Yorkshire was published. It was not just a book. It was a collective space where women from different countries and cultures, living in South Yorkshire, shared poems, stories, memories, recipes, pain, hope, and strength.

At that time, many of us were trying to find our voice in a new country while carrying memories of displacement, loss, survival, and rebuilding. The book came from women’s lived experience and from a belief that our stories matter, not as objects of pity, but as knowledge, creativity, resistance, and dignity.

The voices in this book still stay with me.

Violet wrote with deep pain and power about Africa, land, greed, wounds, war, famine, and refugees, ending her poem with the unforgettable line:

“My name is Africa.”

Christine Thandi wrote about hardship, survival, asylum, education, and the determination to rebuild life. One line still carries so much strength:

“I decided to correct my life.”

Tchiyiwe captured the feeling of arriving in Spital Hill, Sheffield, where different languages, accents, food, and memories meet in one place.

Nacera shared culture through food and memory, reminding us that recipes can also carry identity, belonging, and home.

My own poem, “Sky, Land, Trees, Power And Me,” was also included in this publication. Reading it now feels emotional. I can see the younger version of myself trying to speak about justice, land, womanhood, love, power, and belonging.

One line still stays with me:

“Your power is your weapon, my power is my love.”

Some of the women who contributed to this work have since left the country. Some are no longer with us. But their voices remain. Their words are still part of our collective memory.

I also want to acknowledge the people who helped make this work possible, including Patricia Daniel, who gave ongoing advice and support through Global Issues Local Action at Northern College, and River Wolton, whose creative writing support helped many of us put our thoughts and feelings on paper. Their contribution mattered because they did not speak for us. They helped create the conditions for us to speak.

Looking back, I realise that much of the work I continue to do today, with refugee women, sanctuary, storytelling, leadership, and social change, has deep roots in this earlier collective journey.

This book was also part of the beginning of the DEWA project. It reminds me that community work can begin quietly, through writing, food, memory, friendship, and trust, but its impact can continue for many years.

Sixteen years later, I honour every woman who contributed to this work, every woman who shared her story, and every person who helped create a space where women’s voices could be heard with dignity.

Women’s voices. Every woman. Everywhere.
Dr Ibtissam