This Refugee Week, the Renewal Programme proudly joined organisations across the UK to honour the strength, resilience, and contributions of refugees, asylum seekers and migrants under the 2025 theme: Community as a Superpower. Our community is at the heart of everything that we do. And at the heart of everything we do is a belief that together, as a community, we can transform lives by uplifting each other. This year’s theme gave us the perfect opportunity to showcase how communities come together to uplift one another through solidarity, storytelling and support.
As part of the week’s celebrations, we hosted a special open community film screening. The event brought together our community – many of whom are from the refugee and aslyum seeker community – to watch The Swimmers, a moving film that tells the extraordinary story of Yusra and Sarah Mardini—two teenage Syrian sisters who fled war, risked everything to cross the Aegean Sea, and emerged as global symbols of courage and compassion\.
The film highlights not only the dangers many refugees face, but also their unwavering hope and humanity. The screening resonated deeply with our audience, many of whom have experienced displacement themselves. The Mardini sisters’ story of swimming for survival—literally pulling a boat of refugees through the sea—and later going on to compete in the Olympics (in Yusra’s case) or support others arriving on European shores (in Sarah’s case), powerfully illustrated this year’s theme in action.
After the screening, attendees stayed to share reflections over food and conversation. For many, the event served as both a moment of remembrance and one of recognition—that within each individual refugee story is a reminder of how community can become a lifeline.
At the Renewal Programme, our Refugee, Aslum Seeker, and Migrant Support service works year-round to provide vital advice, support and community connections for people rebuilding their lives in Newham. We offer one-to-one guidance, help with accessing housing and benefits, and a welcoming space where people feel seen and heard. Refugee Week allows us to celebrate the people we support—not only as survivors of hardship, but as contributors, friends, neighbours and changemakers.
Throughout the week, we saw how powerful it is when people come together s difference. From staff and volunteers to service users and local residents, the shared commitment to dignity and inclusion was palpable. “Community as a superpower” isn’t just a theme—it’s a truth we live out every day at the Renewal Programme.
To everyone who joined us this week, thank you for standing in solidarity and building a more compassionate world—one connection at a time.
