MH London - Joel - December

When we started this house a little over a year ago we wanted to be a place not only for our closest friends and the community we ourselves could envision, but also for the community (Jewish and otherwise) around us. We wanted to link groups up, bringing together people who might otherwise never meet. We wanted to support and improve the community in London; not just add to the competition.

One event we've started up recently, which is an example of the way this has materialised for us, is the 'Hang Out at the House' series we've been doing with the JCC. The JCC is itself a relatively new thing in London and they still don't have a full-time venue, preferring for the moment to hold events in different places around the city. Well the JCC approached us and asked if we'd like to host a monthly space for Darfuri refugees and asylum seekers, alongside our more frequent Moishe Houseniks.

We jumped at the chance. I won't go into great detail about the situation in Darfur. Many of you will have read stuff already, and if you haven't, I couldn't do it justice... best to see somewhere like http://www.savedarfur.org/pages/background/ instead.

Suffice to say these young people, who end up in the UK having fled their genocide-ravaged home, also face a very hard time in London, which can be challenging even for someone who's lived here their whole life and is comparitively priveleged. The idea of the event is to spread a little of the kind of atmosphere and community we create at this house, to put it to good use beyond the borders of the Jewish community.

So far we've had three great evenings. We've done a different thing each time - first time just relaxing and getting to know each other, and sharing stories and experiences; second time cooking (and of course eating) traditional Darfuri food; and just last week combining the event with one of our gorgeous, tried and trusted open mic nights.

There have generally been more Jews than Darfuris at these events - the Darfuris live in all corners of London, placed there by immigration, so it's sometimes difficult to travel - but we're very pleased with how they're going. To be honest, the events feel in some ways like many of others: warm, welcoming, creative and happy.

So we plan to continue shape-shifting London community, Jewish and beyond.