Welcome to 'Cat's Cradle' - a storytelling group for asylum seekers, based in Manchester city centre.

It has been running for five years now, meeting weekly on Tuesday mornings in central Manchester.

Typically, between 12 and 20 people attend the weekly sessions - men and women ranging widely in age and background. So far, those attending have come from: DR Congo, Zimbabwe, Rwanda, Niger, Nigeria, Cameroon, Togo, Central African Republic, Sierra Leone, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Iran and Sri Lanka. We are completely open to people from other countries not mentioned here attending the group.

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Professional interpreters are provided for every session so that those who want or need that help can understand everything that is said. This also gives everyone the opportunity to express themselves in their mother tongue. 

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At the heart of every session is the telling of and listening to stories- often followed by a chance to talk about what those stories have meant to everyone. These range from folk-tales, legends and myths, to anecdotes and personal stories. They can be interesting fragments or fully formed narratives. Also, there is no compulsion to tell stories. Everything is by choice. Listeners are considered just as important as the

tellers in Cat’s Cradle sessions. As well as sharing thoughts and feelings about the stories told, there can also be wonderful exchanges of knowledge and experience about the different countries and cultures group members come from.

Sometimes sessions also include the playing of drama games, song or dance. Every session has a break for refreshments which is also a chance to socialise a little. Some participants have also commented on how attending Cat’s Cradle has helped them with learning to speak and understand English. Several have also remarked that attending the group has helped support their mental health and encouraged

feelings of well-being.

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All those running and facilitating the group are very experienced and skilled at working alongside asylum seekers. They offer a high level of attentive, caring presence as well as a range of creative skills.

The sessions are free and £5 travel expenses is also paid to everyone attending.

If you think you could be interested in coming along to Cat’s Cradle, please call or send a text to Charlie at 07928538019.

Or if you have access to the internet, you can send an e-mail to: catscradlestories@gmail.com

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