Finding a Home Away from Home: Sawston’s Filipino Community Comes Together
For Filipino families living in Sawston, community is about much more than simply sharing the same heritage. It is about friendship, faith, food, laughter and the feeling of being surrounded by people who understand where you come from.
Many Filipino residents in the village are healthcare professionals and their families, with strong connections to the nearby Addenbrooke’s Hospital. Over the years, families have made their homes in Sawston, building their lives while maintaining the traditions and values that connect them to the Philippines.
For many, Our Lady of Lourdes Church has become an important place of connection. It is a place where people come together in faith, but also where friendships are formed and community life is nurtured.
The Filipino community has also made an important contribution to parish life. Nieva Cortez and friends are catechists, supporting the religious education of children in the community. Almost every year, there are Filipino children attending catechism classes and celebrating significant milestones, including their First Holy Communion and Confirmation.
A Long-Awaited Gathering
After Filipino families began settling in Sawston in the mid-2000s, the community came together for its first gathering in 2023.
For some, it was a chance to reconnect with friends. For others, it was an opportunity to meet fellow Filipinos in the village for the very first time. Families gathered with a shared sense of excitement and anticipation, eager to get to know one another and celebrate the community they had quietly been building over the years.
Father John Minh of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish opened the gathering with a warm welcome and a thanksgiving prayer. Each family then had the opportunity to introduce themselves and share a little about their experiences of living in Sawston.
There was plenty of food—an essential part of any Filipino gathering—as families shared dishes and enjoyed the opportunity to eat together. The atmosphere soon became relaxed and lively, with children and adults alike taking part in games and activities.
There was plenty of laughter, and, naturally, karaoke was also part of the celebrations. For many Filipinos, singing is an important part of any social gathering, and the karaoke provided the perfect opportunity to showcase the community’s love of music and good humour.
More Than a Party
The gathering was not simply a social event. It was a chance for people to discover that, even far from the Philippines, they are not alone.
It was a celebration of belonging: of families finding friendship, of neighbours becoming part of a wider community, and of Filipino traditions continuing to thrive in a new home.
The gathering ended with laughter, new friendships and a renewed sense of fellowship. There was also a shared hope that this would be the first of many opportunities for the Filipino community in Sawston to come together.
The wider Cambridge area is home to a large and active Filipino community, and many Sawston residents take part in regional gatherings and cultural celebrations, including annual Philippine Independence Day events. These wider networks provide further opportunities to meet, celebrate Filipino culture and maintain connections across the region.
For those looking to connect, Our Lady of Lourdes Community and regional Filipino networks are good places to start. Whether you are interested in cultural events, social gatherings, religious services, Filipino food or simply meeting other Filipino families, there are opportunities to become part of the community.
For the Filipino families of Sawston, the message is simple: home is not only the place where you live. Sometimes, home is also found in the people around you—in shared meals, familiar songs, conversations in your own language, and the joy of discovering that you are part of something bigger.
And perhaps, in Sawston, the Filipino community has found a home away from home.