Kumari Northam was born in Sri Lanka and, after a period spent in Hong Kong, Kumari and her family have now settled in Tiverton. She runs a mobile catering business in Tiverton, catering to local customers and events. Of the locals in Tiverton, Kumari says: “People...
Anthony Nderitu is a Religious Studies teacher at Tiverton High School. Born in Kenya, he gained a degree in Theology before moving between Botswana, Sweden and South Africa. He now lives near Exeter with his wife and son. In his spare time, Anthony enjoys walking on...
Gail Hickman describes herself as "a cultural mongrel", with Irish, English, Scottish and Viking heritage. She was born and lived most of her life in South Africa, and is an honorary Zulu. At age 50 she decided to move to England to escape the violence in her...
Khaled is Syrian, and 15 years old. He came to Bideford with his family about 3 years ago. Khaled was keen to share his experiences of living here because he and his family now feel safe and enjoy living in Bideford. An important tradition for Khaled and his wider...
Emily is Vietnamese. She met her husband in Vietnam whilst running a successful beauty business. They have been married for 16 years and have a son. The couple moved to Holsworthy as her husband wanted to look after his mother. Coming from a city to a small village...
Jaz Rogers is a 25 year old graffiti and street artist, who has lived in Bideford all his life. His parents came from Hertfordshire to North Devon around twenty years before Jaz was born. Jaz’s mother is White British and his father is from St Kitts. Jaz believes he...
Nataliya is from Western Ukraine. She is 41 and has been living in the Bideford area for about 18 years. She is lecturer in Health Studies at Petroc. Nataliya is married and has two teenage sons. “To feel that ‘belonging’, you need other people around you to give that...
Rose came to North Devon 5 years ago. Rose was born in this country, but she also has Jamaican heritage: her parents came to Britain in the 1950s. Rose has fond memories of her journey growing up in a Jamaican household, which influenced her upbringing, life and...
'A Migrant's Story' by David Woolger David has been part of the 'Telling Our Stories' project from the outset and through his writing and poetry has shared his story. David speaks with eloquent openness about race, identity and life with a mental health condition....
Inspired by her fascination with artifacts and the museum collections in Exeter's RAMM, Community Researcher Yukiko Frank undertook an innovative research project of her own 'Chosen By Ourselves' which researches multi-cultural Exeter today. Many people living and/or...
Community Researcher, Olivia Hall, has given us three areas of research that give insight into Exeter's multi-cultural past: St Stephens Parish Henry VIII's Military Survey of 1522 which shows early records of foreign-born nationals in Exeter. Photo shows the parish...
From Devon Record Office, a collection of 'Portraits of Devonshire Characters' by an artist called Tucker. Dated 1870-1873. Number 3 carries the caption "Miss ______ Daughter of an English Merchant in West Africa sent to England to be educated", with the (probably...