Hear from Jas Powar, Sponsorship Specialist and Innocentia Ezea, Area Manager, how the Anchor EmbRACE network marked South Asian Heritage Month this year in their joint blog.
This South Asian Heritage Month, our EmbRACE network set out to bring people together and spark conversation, between colleagues and residents from every background, about identity, culture, and what unites us.
What we set out to do
We launched a competition asking residents and colleagues to share what South Asian heritage and unity mean to them, and the response exceeded anything we'd hoped for. People sent in memories, family stories, recipes passed down through generations, and reflections on what it means to carry two cultures at once. Those stories are now being woven into a digital scrapbook, a permanent record that will outlast the month itself and give people something to return to for years, whether they took part this time or simply want to understand a colleague or neighbour a little better.
As a thank you, the locations and care homes that submitted the most stories will be rewarded with a celebration of their own, complete with cultural dishes prepared alongside our chefs. It felt important that the reward wasn't just symbolic. Food, like storytelling, is one of the most direct ways culture gets passed from one person to another, and we wanted that to be part of how we said thank you.
We also held a Show and Tell, inviting colleagues to bring in a single item that captured something of their culture and to tell its story to the room.
What came out of it
One colleague brought in a photo from her wedding day and introduced us to Maas Khata, a Bengali tradition in which the couple cuts a fish the morning after the wedding for good luck. She explained why the fish carries such weight, what the ritual represents, and how her family still performs it exactly as generations before them did. The conversation was full with comparisons, as colleagues began swapping the small, private traditions they'd grown up with and finding unexpected overlaps between their own histories.
Another colleague spoke about growing up Sikh, and what her faith has meant to her and her family. She discussed how being visibly religious has affected her and her family, in light of prejudice in the UK, and how others in the community have come together in moments of unity and solidarity to build a greater understanding of Sikhism.
What stayed with us, looking back, was how naturally curious people were with each other: asking questions, drawing comparisons, wanting to know more.
Why this matters
For us, South Asian Heritage Month is part of a much bigger picture that runs right through Anchor, the belief that everyone, whatever their background, should be able to bring their full selves to work, and that residents should be able to live somewhere that genuinely sees and celebrates who they are.
We have residents and colleagues from South Asian backgrounds, and residents and colleagues from dozens of other backgrounds too, living and working side by side every day. Many have lived rich, varied lives long before they came to Anchor, and moments like this give them a chance to share that history with the people around them.
What’s next
We're already looking ahead to Black History Month in October. And, if this month showed us anything, it's that people carrying far more history and tradition than we often realise. Every time someone shares a piece of it, the picture of who we are as a community gets a little richer.
Thank you to everyone who took part, whether by bringing something in, speaking up, or simply being part of the audience.
Co-authored by Jas Powar, Sponsorship Specialist and Secretary of the EmbRACE network, and Innocentia Ezea, Area Manager and Interim Chair of the EmbRACE network.
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