YOUNG people have learned about East African culture during a year-long project.

Youth charity Aik Saath, in Church Street, Slough ran the ‘Urithi’ project, which included a variety of practical workshops that gave members an insight into the cultures of Somalia, Uganda, and other nations.

Rob Deeks, leader of the charity, said: “We did a Somali cooking event, and learned that Somali’s often cook spaghetti bolognese to impress guests, due to their colonial past. There were lots of commonalities in the way we cook it.

“I think its fair to say one of the most popular parts of the project was the Ugandan drumming.”

Youth members also learnt to speak words of Swahili, and visited the Pitt Rivers museum. The project was funded by a grant from the National Lottery and came to a conclusion on Tuesday when youngsters were presented with their certificates by the deputy leader of Slough Borough Council, Sabia Hussain.

Cllr Hussain said: “One of my new responsibilities since May has been to encourage community cohesion, which I’m really passionate about.

“Slough gets a bad rap for being a migrant destination – but people from outside don’t see how we can celebrate each other’s differences here.”

Aik Saath member Sanna Malik, 15, of Lansdowne Avenue, Slough, said: “Doing the project gave me a good feeling – it’s not my culture, so it was good to learn about another culture in more depth. It was interesting to see how people from the area got through their difficulties.”

Another member, Keannah Shaw, 17 of Glanmor Road, Slough, said: “I really enjoyed it, I was doing it right from the start. It was really fun experiencing the culture and history of East Africa, we spoke to people from the area about their lives, how they were brought up, and their traditions.”