Some amazing London refugee projects, as chosen by you

It’s not exactly news that the global refugee crisis is getting worse. According to the UN Refugee Agency, there are more than 26.6 million refugees worldwide, a figure that has more than doubled over the last decade.

Right here in London, there are dozens of ongoing initiatives offering services to support the 133,000 people seeking asylum in the UK – from the South London Refugee Association, to Tooting’s Community Action for Refugees and Asylum Seekers and Women for Refugee Women.

To find out other amazing initiatives supporting refugees, we asked Time Out Instagram followers to share their favourite London-based projects. Check them out below:

Refugee Community Kitchen

Refugee Community Kitchen serves up hot meals to displaced people in the UK and France, offering somewhere for them to gather and make new relationships. They have London outreach projects in Camden, Brixton, Hackney and Bethnal Green, using food donated by The Felix Project – a charity redistributing surplus food from suppliers. Find out more about the Refugee Community Kitchen here.

Code Your Future

This non-profit offers coding courses for refugees, asylum -eekers and disadvantaged people looking to work in tech. Graduates from its courses work now in companies like the BBC and Ticketmaster: not bad. You can find out more here. 

Print Club London: Choose Love 

Print Club London has been hard at work collaborating with some pretty cool artists for an exclusive fundraising exhibition at Choose Love Carnaby Street. The exhibition will raise money for the aid organisation of the same name and is open until Tue Dec 21, 10am-7pm. You can find out more here. 

Refugee Café

This Lewisham-based charity makes products – such as Syrian chilli paste and Yemeni spiced tea – using traditional recipes from local people granted asylum, helping them on the road to employment. The products are available to purchase from shops in the nearby area, at RARE Market Woolwich, and on its online shop. 

Worldwide Tribe

Human rights defender Jaz O’Hara shares stories of migration and debunks myths on her Instagram platform ‘The Worldwide Tribe’, as well as hosting a podcast raising awareness of the humanitarian crisis. 

Stories & Supper

An east London supper club with an events programme celebrating the resilience of refugees and sharing the stories behind migration headlines. Check out its website to stay up to date with the latest events.  

Support Cue Point’s scheme to make the restaurant industry more accessible to refugees.

There’s a new support fund and campaign to welcome refugees to London.