Celebrating Tamil Heritage month

Happy New Year to you all - I hope you had a great festive season.

January marks the start of a new year and many of us will be making resolutions and trying new hobbies. January is also a time to celebrate some of the many diverse communities living in Sutton, with Lunar New Year coming up in a couple of weeks, as well as this month being dedicated to our Tamil community through Tamil Heritage Month.

There are many Tamils living in Sutton who call the borough their home and so I am delighted that Sutton Council will be celebrating Tamil Heritage Month, when we are able to celebrate the wonderful contribution this community is making.

At the last council meeting, councillors from across the political spectrum unanimously agreed that we wanted to mark this important month. We are proud and grateful of the huge contribution made to our borough by the Tamil community. Throughout January Sutton Council will be celebrating the heritage and culture of Sutton's Tamil community including Pongal - the Harvest Festival - on 15th January.

On behalf of Sutton Council, I would like to personally thank everyone in the Tamil community for their invaluable contribution to Sutton and more widely in London. 

Over many decades the Tamil community has made significant contributions to the UK - from serving in our armed forces during World War II to working on Covid-19 vaccines.

This month is a wonderful opportunity to hear the personal stories and contributions from members of the Tamil community in Sutton who will be sharing their experiences. I am excited to learn more about their journeys, from working for the NHS as doctors and nurses, to serving as teachers and teaching assistants, and all the other many contributions they are making.