Monday 18th July to Wednesday 17th August 2022
It is that time again to celebrate South Asian Heritage Month, which is in it’s third year of celebration. This years theme is ‘Journey’s of Empire’ which represents the South Asian identity who were influenced by the journey’s of empire. This theme increases the awareness of how different empires including the Mughal, Duranni, Vijayanagar and the British forcefully made individuals travel to the Caribbean, East Asian and also their journeys to the UK.
This year also represents two important anniversaries:
75th anniversary of the independence of India, Partition, and the creation of East and West Pakistan
50th anniversary of the expulsion of Ugandan Asians by Idi Amin
The South Asian region includes 8 countries:
(Click on each of the regions to find out their Capital Cities, Population and other interesting facts like what their flag represents!!)
How did Life Links support the event?
Our staff increased their awareness and understanding of South Asian heritage by researching, using information packs and the SAHM website!
Our peer groups completed South Asian Heritage Month-themed activities! For example, you can see in the below photo that Creative Links (Tuesdays 2-3pm) drew around their hands, and decorated them imitating henna designs.
Further, the Older Adults Group (Fridays 11am-12pm) completed a South Asian geography and flags quiz, which the group thoroughly enjoyed. They told us that they had learned about South Asian culture and some key facts about the counties!
Finally, our Walk and Talk Group (Wednesdays 2-3pm) completed a country quiz at Abbey Park! The members enjoyed learning which flag is which – and some facts about the countries! (See below photo).
Throughout the month, we posted on Instagram (@rflifelinks), covering a variety of topics! We created a ‘Flags Quiz’ for our Instagram Story (pictured below) alongside other posts explaining the importance of the month and explored some inspiring individuals from South Asia.
There is evidence to suggest that mental health is not a well-discussed topic in some South Asian communities. It is therefore important to promote open conversations and for the community to be reminded that Life Links are here to provide free mental health and wellbeing support to every adult in Leicestershire, whether that be through promoting peer groups, or offering time on the phone to explore other options.
Please call us on 0800 0234 575 to discuss the support we offer, or visit our website (www.rflifelinks.co.uk) to explore our informative ‘self-help’ tab and take a look at our drop-in peer groups!
