THE group waits politely as Lijie Zhang, whose name, she explains, means “beautiful and outstanding”, prepares to begin her talk on life in China. She admits to being a little nervous, but, from the moment she starts speaking, she has the audience enthralled.

Lijie’s grandmother was one of millions of Chinese girls who, from the age of five or six, had their feet bound to prevent them from growing – a practice dictated by men’s perception of beauty. The women listening to the talk – members of Sisters of Sunderland – crowd to a laptop to see a picture of a pale-faced little girl with impossibly tiny feet, which Lijie says prevented her grandmother from running and made her walk with a stilted shuffle.

Another subject which sparks the women’s interest is the Chinese government’s restriction of family size to one child per couple. They listen intently to Lijie’s explanation that, far from objecting to it, most educated people consider this a necessary curb to the population and that, in general, Chinese women enjoy a greater level of equality than those in other countries. Spontaneous applause breaks out at the revelation that it is often Chinese men who do the cooking.

Lijie’s talk is among the first organised by Sisters of Sunderland as a follow-up to an exhibition, Stories from Our Sisters in Sunderland, currently on at the city’s Museum and Winter Gardens. Led by Sangini, a local group whose name means “a friend” in Hindi, the project aimed to bring together women migrants who have settled in Sunderland to tell their stories through arts.

Such was its success – and so strong the friendships formed – that the participants decided to continue meeting weekly, sharing their experiences and finding new outlets for their rich cultural heritage.

A coup for Sangini was securing £50,000 in Lottery funding – the largest grant awarded to a community group for this type of project – and they also received support from the Community Foundation and Sherburn House Trust.

Lead co-ordinator Padma Rao, an artist who formerly worked for the Arts Council, has been involved in Sangini since its inception in 2002. She feels the funding represented welcome recognition for the group, which supports women migrants and promotes cultural diversity.

“For Sangini it’s been an amazing project,”

says Padma, 53. “For 12 years we’ve been saying, ‘This is how we are making a difference. This is why we exist’. This project truly allowed us to demonstrate that.”

One of the early obstacles faced by Padma and her team was penetrating often isolated minorities to find participants. As part of the project, which lasted a year-and-a-half, the women received training on the recording of oral histories. A significant challenge was convincing them that their experiences were valuable.

“Initially, the women were like, ‘I’ve got nothing to say. My story is nothing’,” says Padma. “They could only identify themselves as somebody’s wife or somebody’s mother. There’s nothing wrong with that but there was a very distinct lack of self-image.

“We have so much to contribute, so much to be proud of, but as women we tend not to be.

We found that even with women who were in senior positions, there was a certain modesty in saying, ‘Yes, I’ve achieved this’.”

The project’s aim was not only to highlight to the women the value of their experiences but to show others how these could enrich their own cultural lives. A key component was photographing participants at locations that were significant to them, allowing them to stake a claim to the local landscape. “There was that split second when you could see that sense of pride,”

says Padma. “There was a moment that said, ‘I’m in Sunderland. This is me’.”

Predictably, among the women’s revelations were stories of suffering. Each had their experiences recorded, but some were so painful that they had to be left out.

“We were in tears,” admits Padma, who is originally from India and who was among the contributors. “It was a chance for the women to open up because that trust had been built up. Two women talked about severe racial abuse and they asked us to record that. It was a privilege and, to me, that’s why the women are very special.”

Sisters of Sunderland is still evolving, but there are already ideas for future projects. The women have visited local heritage sites, and are planning a trip to the Black Cultural Archives, in Brixton, in the hope of finding inspiration.

The aims may be serious but there have been plenty of lighter moments – among the photographs in the exhibition are those of the women with objects like a can of baked beans, reflecting their sometimes quirky memories of arriving in the UK.

Within the group there is a real sense of camaraderie and the desire to share with one another and with the wider community – a hope which Padma is determined to help the women realise. In the first instance, she hopes the exhibition will be seen by as many as possible.

“It will be touring to libraries, community centres and church halls – a venue in Bradford is already interested,” she says. “The group has a long way to go but the positive thing is that the energy and the enthusiasm are there. This will be the richest group that you can imagine and then they will go out and further share this knowledge.”

  • Stories from Our Sisters in Sunderland is at Sunderland’s Museum and Winter Gardens until August 31. sanginistories.org.uk