alongside other staff and beneficiaries. We hopped between several stores such as a<\/p>\n
supermarket, a Congolese <\/span>poissonnerie, and a local \u00e9picerie. Those stores were bustling!<\/p>\n Congolese ladies knew exactly what they were looking for, picking out ingredients for<\/p>\n the dishes they had planned for Saturday: cassava, rice, chicken legs, paprika, etc. Since<\/p>\n we were shopping for about 50 to 60 servings, everything came in enormous quantities.<\/p>\n I usually just go to the supermarket to do grocery shopping, so I was surprised by the<\/p>\n variety. So many special ingredients and condiments from all across Africa!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n That morning, I joined the grocery run with Anja, the founder of the community<\/p>\n kitchen, and I asked her about the initiative and support it offers to women specifically.<\/p>\n She told me that <\/span>she started the community kitchen mainly for pregnant women and<\/p>\n mothers with children, after noticing that many existing support systems are designed<\/p>\n around the \u201caverage\u201d beneficiary, maximizing the number of people reached, but often<\/p>\n leaving more vulnerable groups behind. \u201cFemale refugees and homeless women are<\/p>\n often more vulnerable, as many of them face risks of being stalked or experiencing<\/p>\n violence while living on the street.\u201d, she explained. As a result, many women end up<\/p>\n sleeping in places like parking garages, the hallway of code-locked apartments, or<\/p>\n women-only shelters, making them essentially invisible to passersby or aid<\/p>\n organizations. Anja pointed out that for women, especially those who are pregnant or<\/p>\n caring for young children, general refugees and homeless support may not fit their<\/p>\n needs. So, what she did first was to ask. She asked refugee women what they actually<\/p>\n needed; they answered that they wanted to cook their own food. And that\u2019s how the<\/p>\n community kitchen was born. Not Alone75 covers the cost of groceries and provides a<\/p>\n space where women can cook and share meals together. Anja was clear that respecting<\/p>\n the autonomy and freedom of beneficiaries is one of the core values. \u201cBeneficiaries<\/p>\n cook for others themselves, with the help of volunteers, so they get to choose what they<\/p>\n eat, while also staying connected to their culture and community through sharing local<\/p>\n specialties.\u201d Anja said. The balance of support and independence really inspired me!<\/p>\n She also introduced some important ground rules to me when interacting with children<\/p>\n at the shelter. Since much of the volunteers\u2019 work involves looking after kids while the<\/p>\n women cook, there are clear guidelines: limited physical contact, no photos of kids, and<\/p>\n no photos of kids posted on SNS. For newcomers, handing their children to strangers<\/p>\n requires an enormous amount of trust. So, Anja is intentional about keeping the<\/p>\n volunteer group small and consistent at first, giving the staff the chance to build genuine<\/p>\n relationships with the families and earn that trust over time.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n After the shopping, we went to the shelter to drop off everything we bought. When I<\/p>\n walked in the building, I noticed a very welcoming and lively atmosphere, with children<\/p>\n playing and running everywhere. Anja mentioned that the community kitchen connected<\/p>\n her to different cultures. There\u2019s often festive music playing, and sometimes children<\/p>\n and mothers start dancing to it. Also, when it comes to cooking, Congolese people do<\/p>\n not compromise. It often takes three to five hours to cook as the sauces are sometimes<\/p>\n made from scratch, simmered for a long time. The servings are usually for 50 to 60<\/p>\n people, so you can imagine how hard it is to even estimate when it\u2019ll be ready. But<\/p>\n quality comes first!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The next day, I met up with other volunteers at the shelter in the 18th <\/span>arrondissement to<\/p>\n help out at the community kitchen. There were already lots of women and young<\/p>\n children, and our main job was to play with children and keep an eye on them. The<\/p>\n kitchen already smelled incredible when I arrived! Outside, the kids were full of energy,<\/p>\n some played with toys or read books, while others ran out to play football or ride<\/p>\n minibikes. I joined in a game of \u201c1, 2, 3 Soleil!\u201d, and got sent straight back to the start<\/p>\n for flinching. They were not going easy on me. The kids warmed up quickly and got<\/p>\n mischievous and playful in the best way. With 10 to 20 kids to keep track of, it took us<\/p>\n real focus, and sometimes it took strength to break up a small fight among them, but I<\/p>\n genuinely loved keeping them company and playing with them!<\/p>\n For lunch, we were served a Congolese dish: beans and cassava over white rice, with<\/p>\n fried chicken. It was delicious! We all sat together at a long table, and we all shared a<\/p>\n beautiful meal.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n I got to chat with two ladies from Congo during the day. Their experiences and<\/p>\n duration of their involvement differed. Cristal recently found out about Not Alone75<\/p>\n through an acquaintance. Since she was very new, she hadn\u2019t formed many strong<\/p>\n opinions yet, but she told me that she appreciated the welcoming atmosphere there and<\/p>\n how nice it feels to share a meal with others. Carina, who was one of the women<\/p>\n cooking that day, first heard about the kitchen through a social initiative at the H\u00f4tel de<\/p>\n Ville. She said that the community kitchen offers her a place to rest, and a big help in<\/p>\n taking care of children before they were old enough for school. She loves sharing food<\/p>\n with other people, and these days, she also finds joy in cooking for others, channeling<\/p>\n her love of cooking as well as helping look after other kids. I think the community<\/p>\n kitchen is a great opportunity for these women to connect with others and support each<\/p>\n other. Especially sharing meals and moment creates a sense of community and<\/p>\n solidarity.<\/p>\n I also spoke with Maria, one of the Not Alone 75 team members. As she has<\/p>\n volunteered throughout her life, she realized her leadership and start-up thinking can be<\/p>\n useful to help build out the organization through things like an official website,<\/p>\n platform, and data bases. She mentioned emotional complexities and things to be<\/p>\n mindful of in this kind of work. Some of the children may have experienced real<\/p>\n hardship, trauma, and instability, so it takes patience and understanding when they act<\/p>\n out. The kids can be rough sometimes, I saw some of them start screaming crying or get<\/p>\n angry at times, but what we can do is to empathize with them and be by their side with<\/p>\n love. But Maria said the women are very talkative and warm, and the children gradually<\/p>\n open up as they get more comfortable with familiar faces.<\/p>\n The idea Maria kept coming back to was the difference between \u201chelping\u201d and<\/p>\n solidarity. She explains that one-sided helping is often linked with pity which creates a<\/p>\n vertical relationship and a distance between the helper and beneficiaries while solidarity<\/p>\n restores a horizontal relationship and deep empathy, without any pity or control. She<\/span><\/p>\n emphasizes that it’s very important to create a safe space where women can define their<\/p>\n own needs and realize it through collaboration with them. That distinction hit me. This<\/span><\/p>\n isn\u2019t a place where people receive help passively, but a place where people cook, share,<\/p>\n laugh, and build something together. And that makes all the difference.<\/p>\n In Paris, there are several organizations that offer aid for refugee women.<\/p>\n If you\u2019d like to learn more, here are some organizations that provide shelters or<\/p>\n accommodations for women:<\/p>\n \u30fbFIT(Une Femme un toit): offer a social housing and reintegration center as well as<\/p>\n emergency accommodation center for women aged between 18 and 25 without children<\/span><\/p>\n who are victims of sexist and\/or sexual violence, and living in a precarious situation.<\/p>\n https:\/\/www.associationfit.org\/l-association<\/p>\n \u30fbHHU(Habitat & humanism Urgence): Provide shelter and support along with legal,<\/p>\n medical, professional support, including job training, housing, and cultural integration<\/p>\n programs.<\/p>\n https:\/\/www.habitat-humanisme.org\/le-mouvement\/urgence\/<\/p>\n \u30fb<\/span>Emmau\u0308s Solidarit\u00e9 -Centre d’Ivry: Run a large migrant emergency accommodation<\/p>\n center with around 450 places.<\/p>\n https:\/\/www.emmaus-solidarite.org\/sur-le-terrain\/les-hebergements<\/p>\n \u30fbSinga-J’accueille: Connects refugees with French residents who are willing to<\/p>\n facilitate refugees, ranging from a few days to several months of experience living with<\/p>\n locals.<\/p>\n https:\/\/www.jaccueille.fr\/je-d\u00e9couvre<\/p>\n \u30fbR\u00e9fugi\u00e9s Bienvenue: <\/span>Mobilize a network of individuals in \u00cele-de-France to host<\/p>\n refugees free of charge in their homes.<\/p>\n \n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cdn.servethecity.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2026\/09\/screenshot-2026-09-25-at-13.29.48-224x300.png\")
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