News & events Drawing unity from diversity for day of celebrations at Agricola House
At Voyage Care, expert teams work together to ensure the people we support live fulfilling lives. Using person-centred support, we celebrate their unique personalities and promote individual choices. By empowering them to be their most authentic selves, we welcome freedom of expression and find unity in diversity.
This is encouraged across our devoted team members too.
We know our colleagues are the beating heart of our sector-leading care and support. Each person brings with them a unique heritage, world views, and life experience. The advantage of having a diverse team is something specialist brain injury rehabilitation service Agricola House know all about.
Our support team at Agricola House share a common goal – to empower the people we support to live fulfilling lives. But seven of their team members share something deeper – their Nigerian homeland.
Recently, they embraced a unique event where they shared a slice of their heritage, with a day focused on Nigerian culture and traditions.
Close to heart
Holding equality, diversity, and inclusion close to his heart, Service Manager Jack Murray prides himself on running a cooperative service, empowering team members and the people we support to be unique individuals. Continuously seeking opportunities to promote individuality, Jack is keen to embrace what is important to everyone at Agricola House.
So, to round off the summer and ahead of black history month, Jack proposed to Senior Support Worker Chiddima that they put on a festival at the home, honouring the inspiring traditions of Nigeria.
Lead by Chiddima, she and fellow team members David, Henry, Temi, Udi and Joshua set to work organising the event, forming a colleague committee for the festivities! Planning a day of lively Nigerian activities, they knew this event would be a valuable opportunity to share their roots, uniting the household through new experiences.
Vibrant feast
For the festivities, Chiddima and her committee colleagues coordinated an action-packed day, offering everyone at Agricola House a taste of authentic Nigerian culture.
Centring around native cuisine, they cooked a vibrant feast of West African fayre. Inviting all colleagues and family members of the people we support, they whipped up dishes like Jollof rice – a well-known vegetable-based spiced rice dish, along with Bole, a dish based on roasted plantains, and Poundo, which is based on mashed yams.
As expertly trained brain injury rehabilitation professionals, they also identified an opportunity for the people we support to exercise their skills. Sourcing a range of arts and crafts activities, housemates at Agricola House engaged in creating Nigerian-themed placemats and other art pieces. Throughout the day, their creations were proudly hung around the home.
Underneath the Nigerian flag, the people we support, and our extended staff team tucked into the feast. Learning about the traditions of Nigeria, Chiddimi, Temi, Udi, Joshua, David, and Henry shared something even more special from their homeland.
Break out performance
A firmly closed secret, Chidimma and her Nigerian colleagues surprised and delighted Agricola House with a spontaneous dance performance!
African cultures are known for their lively, soul-enriching dances. Along with several other performances, our team proudly demonstrated Egwu Egedege, a renowned Nigerian dance, traditionally performed under moonlight, and Bata, a dance historically used to break cultural boundaries.
The moment was made even more inspirational with traditional Nigerian dress. Flowing robes, known as Agbada, and Kenté, a vibrant patterned cloth powerfully symbolic of African culture, created a vibrant display as our team passionately danced away.
Bridging gaps
The opportunity to share our Nigerian colleagues’ heritage held deep value with the wider team at Agricola House. And our Nigerian colleagues discovered deeper meaning in sharing something personal to them.
For Joshua, this has supported him to find unity in diversity and build greater bonds with his colleagues and the people we support. He commented:
“Sharing my Nigerian heritage with our colleagues and the people we support provided a framework for understanding cultural practices, values, and traditions of another country. It’s also promoted a collective consciousness in terms of unity, oneness, nationalism and fostering peaceful co-existence among people of different countries and cultures at Agricola House.“
By uniting as a household and sharing these experiences, our colleagues further developed their relationships with each other. Sharing knowledge and education on each other’s values and principles, a deeper appreciation was fostered.
Bridging gaps and inviting others into their worlds is important to our colleagues. For David, proudly expressing his pride in his identity and traditions of his homeland is key to enriching deep connections and achieving oneness. He commented:
“Sharing my Nigerian culture was an opportunity to bridge cultural gaps by allowing others to experience my heritage first-hand. It has strengthened bonds between my fellow Nigerian colleagues, our other international team members, and the people we support.“
Diversity aware
Hosting a day dedicated to another culture had big benefits for the people we support. Exposing them to new experiences and building greater awareness, the day promoted shared feelings of acceptance. Events such as their Nigerian Day do just that, by reinforcing positive attitudes and building awareness of each other’s beliefs, values and perspectives.
Engaging with new activities, watching bold displays of dance and bonding over new foods was pivotal to enhancing feelings of unity.
Many people with brain injuries will experience their own versions of exclusion, both before and after their injuries, creating feelings of loneliness and discrimination. Opportunities to feel included and accepted are important to them too.
For Support Worker David, the day planted a sense of belonging for everyone. He commented:
For the people we support, the day brought joy, curiosity, and a sense of belonging. Experiencing diverse cultural expressions such as Nigerian dance, food, and clothing provided a refreshing and stimulating environment, which can be particularly meaningful in a rehabilitation setting. It broke the routine, creating an atmosphere of celebration and unity.
Celebrations of other cultures also offer a vibrant shift in usual routines. Across our brain injury services, our teams work diligently to provide meaningful opportunities to the people we support. Diversity and vibrant festivities, like Agricola House’s Nigerian Day, offer an extra special layer to their experiences.
David supported this by saying:
“Our event offered emotional uplift, social interaction, and inclusion. The people we support were invited to witness and participate in a diverse cultural world. It triggered positive emotions, sparked memories, and served as a therapeutic outlet, contributing to their overall wellbeing.”
Leading the way in organising the event, Chidimma was overwhelmed with the positive response from the people we support. Reflecting on the success of the day, she proudly said:
“It was amazing for the people we support to experience something different. They loved the food and were open to trying everything. The outfits were colourful and authentically depicted our cultural style. I would like to think everyone had a swell time and would love to enjoy more cultural activities soon!”
Extending ethos
Collectively, our Nigerian colleagues at Agricola House exhibited the foundations of our company ethos. Providing an educational experience, everyone was included and empowered to develop their diversity awareness.
Sharing the roots of their culture, they created a circular sense of unity, which is integral to Nigerian culture.
With such a positive response to the event, Temi is confident they have set the wheels in motion to drive forward a vehicle for increased diversity, equality, and inclusion. She commented:
“Despite our different personalities and backgrounds, we can all work together to achieve outcomes that benefit everyone – especially the people we support. Even if our beliefs, opinions, and interests might be different, we can still find ways to connect.”
Service Manager Jack shared Temi’s thoughts. Passionate about diversity, equality and inclusion, he draws value from having a diverse team. His multi-cultural team includes colleagues from Nigeria, Spain, and Britain. Together, they join separate experiences and ideas, building holistic, creative approaches that achieve incredible outcomes for the people we support.
Jack commented:
“Having a diverse team means everyone being on the same page, all the time. We work collaboratively and consider ourselves a family. We do everything we can to embrace our diversity and promote each other as equal.”
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