MEDIA RELEASE
3 December 2010

Cooking & Friendship class celebrates 10 years of helping refugee and migrant women

Women from Somalia, Iraq, Burma, Sweden and the former Yugoslavia joined their Kiwi sisters this weekend to celebrate a decade of Cooking & Friendship.

The programme, originally devised to provide migrant and refugee women with practical advice on cooking Kiwi-style, has developed into a forum for women from all walks of life to share their culinary traditions, practice English, and make friends.

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Speaking at the event, Chief Human Rights Commissioner Rosslyn Noonan said the concept was a simple one, but has provided a great example of how New Zealanders can embrace migrants and refugees and help them feel at home.

“Cooking and Friendship is human rights in action, it has made a positive difference for so many women,” said Commissioner Noonan.

Established in 2000 by St Heliers resident Penny Stevens and the NZ Federation of Business & Professional Women, the classes have evolved over time.

“To begin, the women involved wanted to know how to make things like coleslaw but as we grew we realized Cooking & Friendship provided a wonderful way for women to share their culture through cooking.

“Food is a global language friendship and hospitality and bringing together so many cultures has been inspiring,” says Penny.

The Cooking & Friendship classes take place each month in Ellerslie and in 2010 a new class has been established in Royal Oak.

The programme now forms part of The Liberty of Being Me Foundation – a non-profit focused on building self-esteem to help people deal with life’s challenges.

ENDS

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