My name is Kimberly De Portela E Prado and I am the Founder and Director of Houria, a Bristol-based anti-slavery and anti-racist social enterprise that trains and hires female survivors of slavery in a Pan-African catering company.

Our radically joyful and heart-powered initiative brings talented migrant cooks into paid work. From hosting pop ups, supper clubs to delivering feasts at home, Houria provides safe employment, training and skills-sharing opportunities for female refugee chefs.

The statue of Edward Colston may now be lying at the bottom of Bristol Harbour, but modern enslavement and racial injustice is still thriving in Bristol and causing significant risk to the migrant community. Many refugee women have survived situations of modern slavery, such as trafficking and domestic servitude. At Houria we understand that modern slavery is racialised and gendered. We actively centralise and elevate these women in a safe and encouraging environment.

The challenges that COVID-19 poses to this marginalised community now means that the work Houria does is even more essential. Please support the vital work we do, by donating here.