Yogi: from refugee to chef
- harriet1811
- Apr 7
- 3 min read
A NEW START
At HostNation we've just witnessed a wonderful reunion that melted our hearts. It goes back to one of our very early matches, between a homeless asylum seeker and a couple offering friendship.
At our most recent supper club in London, hosted by the American International Church, the room was packed with refugees and their befrienders. We were all treated to an amazing Sri Lankan meal by a very special chef called Yogi.
To see him smiling broadly and cracking jokes while ladling out his delicious food, you would never imagine what trials Yogi – full name Sivakolundu Yogeswaran – had been through. But back when he was referred to us for friendship several years ago, he was at an extremely low point.
Yogi had hit rock bottom after fleeing persecution and torture and then seeking asylum in the UK. “I was homeless and depressed,” he bravely explained to our guests at the supper club, in a powerful personal account he gave after dinner.
“I know what it is to have a hungry belly. When I moved to London I had no home for four years. I’ll never forget the nights I spent in Charing Cross and Waterloo stations.”
He eventually connected with refugee support agency Freedom From Torture, who helped him find accomodation. “I finally had a proper place to sleep,” as he said. But his troubles weren’t over.
“My depression and PTSD led me to spend three months in a mental health hospital. It was after that I met Geoff and Sabine through HostNation. They changed everything.”
The husband and wife befriender team gave a warm welcome to Yogi and the three quickly became firm friends. “In life you go through a lot of things and he was certainly in a really bad way when we met him,” says Geoff, who with Sabine was wonderfully supportive to the lonely Sri Lankan.
They saw Yogi gradually regain his confidence through the trust he found in them, and also by learning a new skill through being referred to Migrateful, an excellent UK charity who train refugees to be cookery teachers. Yogi had found his new path in life – as a chef.
“At the time I couldn’t even make a cup of tea! But Migrateful taught me so much and I began studying catering at Westminster Kingsway College. From there I got a chef job at the British Museum, then the Plaza Hotel, and then I ended up cooking with Trampoline.”
This latter organisation gives training and employment to refugees, and that inspired Yogi to start his own street food business preparing fresh and authentic Sri Lankan food. At the end of each day he gives any leftover food to the homeless, to help those who are going through similar experiences to his own.
Along the way however he sadly lost contact with Geoff and Sabine when he lost his mobile phone and with it, their number. But HostNation had a surprise in store for both sides of the friendship when we sent out invitations for our supper club. We tracked down Geoff and Sabine, and asked Yogi along to be chef for the night. We were overjoyed when all three were able to come, and to be present when they were reunited.
After eating the fantastic food and hearing Yogi's moving story of his path from torture survivor to accomplished chef, Geoff exclaimed:
“It is very emotional to see where he is now. It has been a privilege to know Yogi and a privilege to walk the journey with him.”
Yogi hugged his old friends tightly with a broad smile, as he recalled all the times that they had helped him during his lowest points.
“I have never forgotten what you did for me. You are the reason I am still here today.”
It was a story that uplifted the whole crowd at the HostNation event, as Yogi won over all hearts with his openness, his honesty and his infectiously positive outlook. He left us with a last inspiring message :
“To everyone here tonight, just remember, even if things seem difficult, the future is bright! That's my experience.”
Do follow Chef Yogi and show him lots of love on Instagram: @yogissrilankan_kitchen
