Peterborough refugee charity makes giant 25 metre flag for Coronation

Members of a sewing club based at a city centre charity have created a huge celebration flag for the King’s Coronation.

The vast patriotic endeavour was made by three ladies who are regular attendees at the H.E.L.P (Helping Empower Lives in Peterborough) charity on Broadway.

Fatima Alissa, the team’s lead seamstress, said she is “really proud” of their creation.

“It is 25 metres big and took just two hours to make,” she said.

The 33-year-old, who came to the UK from Syria three years ago, told the Peterborough Telegraph that they decided to make a large British flag because they received such a great response when they created a giant flag for the city’s Ukrainian residents two months ago:

“It was very nice,” Fatima remembers: “the Ukrainian people came to the office here and said ‘thank you so much for sharing our celebration and supporting us’.”

Fatima and her sewing colleagues – who meet every Thursday at H.E.L.P – are confident their newest creation will be equally well appreciated. Moreover, they are looking forward to delivering more monster pendants in the future:

“Our sewing group is ready to help support any event,” she said, gleefully.

Beckie MacLellan, the charity’s outreach manager and co-founder explained how the flag will be used on Coronation Day. “Residents will parade it through Cathedral Square, like the Ukrainian vigil,” she said, “and then maybe hang it up in the Cathedral after.”

H.E.L.P aims to empower individuals, particularly refugees and asylum seekers, to improve their lives by providing a variety of free services, such as learning English. The charity also offers vulnerable people opportunities to socialise and helps those in need by supplying essentials like food, clothing and toiletries.​

H.E.L.P’s activities manager, Ola, said the sewing club is, to people like Fatima, far more than just a weekly activity:

“It is for talking, for sharing experiences and for advice as well,” she explained, adding: “Their English is better than before.”

“ It is much better than being isolated at home with nothing to do.“