Last week I went with my family to the Karen people's New Year celebrations - 2747 according to their calendar, at Abbeydale Grange school. The little girl pictured above in traditional Karen costume was one of the dancers who performed in front of a packed audience, which must have been over 300 people - and all of us were fed with a hot meal of spring rolls, chicken and rice dishes.

The Karen people are refugees from Burma, whose villages are regularly attacked by the military junta, and who are forbidden to speak their language or practice their culture in their own country. Sheffield's Karen community lived for many years in jungle refugee camps on the Thai border, with no prospect of a safe return to Burma, until Sheffield agreed to welcome them through the UN Gateway Protection Programme.

What impressed me most about the celebrations was the enormous efforts that the Karen community are making to build relationships with local people - to tell their stories and share their culture, and to invite people to get to know them. They also spoke about the welcome they had received in Sheffield, and how much it means to them to be able to live in freedom, for the first time in their lives.

They also had the most beautiful hand-made skirts, jackets and bags for sale, to support their people in Thailand. If there are any entrepreneurs out there with a fashion business, Karen clothing could be a big opportunity... (I bought clothes for both my children and a bag for my wife, and I'm not usually known as an impulsive buyer.)