Cooking up a storm! Meghan makes dumplings with group of female Afghan refugees as she visits Welcome Project in California
- Meghan visits Southern California Welcome Project for ‘cooking and storytelling’
A video has emerged of Meghan Markle cooking traditional Afghan food with a group of 15 women who resettled in the US from Afghanistan.
The Duchess of Sussex created The Welcome Project in 2023 as part of her work with the Archewell Foundation, which she set up together with Prince Harry.
Archewell previously revealed how Meghan had joined the Southern California Welcome Project for an ‘evening of cooking and storytelling’ on February 10.
Now, a clip has now been posted on the Archewell Foundation website of the visit, which shows the Duchess wearing an apron branded with her organisation’s name.
Meghan, 42, was filmed joining the group of women cooking traditional Afghan food including Ashak and Mantuu, which are both types of dumpling.
The Duchess of Sussex features in a video about the Southern California Welcome Project
The video shows Meghan Markle visiting The Welcome Project in California on February 10
Meghan is seen cooking traditional Afghan food with a group of 15 women in the new video
An Archewell press release said the women then discussed ‘their personal stories and the support they find from this intergenerational group of women’.
The visit was in partnership with Mina’s List, an organisation based in New York which has worked with women activists and political leaders in Afghanistan since 2014.
Archewell said that in 2021, Mina’s List helped evacuate and resettle over 2,000 Afghan women and families ‘through independent and coalition efforts’ – many of whom resettled in Southern California.
Mina’s List and Archewell then ‘joined forces to provide community and support to these remarkable women as they begin to rebuild their lives in the US’.
Meghan is said to have been inspired to set up the project following her work with the Hubb Community Kitchen in West London in 2017 which was organised by a group of survivors from the Grenfell Tower fire.
A photo previously issued by Archewell of Meghan at The Welcome Project on February 10
Meghan helped to prepare food at The Welcome Project in California on February 10
Meghan is seen at The Welcome Project on February 10 in a photograph issued by Archewell
Archewell states that the project was launched to create ‘a safe haven and inclusive environment for women who have recently resettled in the US from Afghanistan’.
It adds that the project has ‘a belief in the power of connection and a goal of uplifting communities’, and ‘supports the creation of programming for women who have recently resettled from Afghanistan’.
There are said to be 11 active Welcome Projects across the US ‘designed to foster a sense of belonging through activities including sewing, art, hiking, swimming, photography, storytelling, and cooking’.
Archewell also says: ‘By facilitating women-based programming, The Welcome Project also brings access to critical resources and opportunities that not only supports the women participating in The Welcome Project, but also improves the lives of those around them – their families and their communities.’
The video is located in the ‘programs’ section of the Archewell Foundation website – which is different to the new Sussex.com website that launched earlier this month.
