Working with Children
ICC runs after-school and weekend classes for children aged 5 - 14,
teaching them cultural, linguistic and moral education. The ICC
Community School has consistently been providing this service over the
last 20 years. It promotes and campaigns for social inclusion of
children, particularly those from disadvantaged family backgrounds such
as refugees, asylum seekers, single parents and those who are
marginalised.
ICC provides leisure time activities for children during school
holidays such as organising trips to museums, amusement parks or places
of historical importance. At weekends, children also have the
opportunity to get involved in organised indoor and outdoor activities
such as table-tennis, snooker, football, badminton, tennis etc.
Finally, it provides support to children with their school work and has
a number of young graduate volunteers to motivate and work with them.
It organises homework clubs to teach core academic subjects such as
English, Maths and Science.
There are nearly 100 children who regularly take part in activities
offered to them. ICC offers mother tongue classes in Bengali, Swahili,
Arabic and Urdu. ICC is aware how important it is for children from
various BME communities that, while encouraging them to integrate, they
should not let their cultural inheritance disintegrate. This has been
the rationale behind providing mother tongue classes.
Working with the Youth
The ICC Youth Club is a lifeline for the local youth. It helps
them to develop life skills and improve their understanding of social
and cultural issues through its programme of educational and cultural
activities. There is also an emphasis on sports to engender a
healthier lifestyle amongst the youth. The club is open during
weekends and school holidays. A number of volunteer youth leaders help
to run the youth club.
A weekly discussion forum takes place during the weekend giving young
people an opportunity to discuss and learn about issues that affect
them. The ICC is located in an area of high deprivation, high
unemployment and soaring crime rates. Furthermore, a large number of
young people in the area come from immigrant, asylum seeker and refugee
backgrounds. The youth club has been a source of constant support
and guidance for these youth who have often felt marginalised or found
it difficult to integrate into the wider society.
The Youth Club promotes greater understanding between youth from
various racial, ethnic and cultural backgrounds through its
activities. This helps to alleviate the common misconceptions and
conflict arising from such divide.
The Youth Club has been providing the Summer Youth Project consistently
every year with generous grants from Haringey’s Youth Services. A
range of activities and trips are organised during the summer holiday.
The main feature of the project is that it engages young people in
different volunteer roles. They plan and organise the activities
themselves. Not only does this boost their confidence, it
develops their skills and experiences.
Working with the elderly
The ICC is a hub for older people who are supported through its project
for the elderly. It adopts an open and friendly approach to their
social inclusion and encourages them to get involved in its decision
making process. In fact, some of the management committee members
are retired individuals who have a particular managerial or
organisational skill.
Programmes are arranged regularly for older people to mark special
cultural and religious festivals. They are also supported through
advice and guidance on matters such as pension, housing and other
welfare benefits. Visits are made to elderly patients either in their
house or hospital.
A number of site improvements were made recently within the ICC for the
comfort of older people. The washroom facilities were improved and the
kitchen was also renovated. This was funded by money from Help the Aged
and other match funding.
Working with the unemployed
The ICC is situated in the West Green ward, which is a highly deprived
area of London. Fewer residents in the ward have qualifications
than nationally (64% compared with 84%) and 20% have problems with
basic skills including literacy and numeracy. Unemployment in the
area is higher than the average for London. So, the ICC has
delivered a series of projects to work with the unemployed empowering
them with employability skills. In 2003, it ran the ‘Ethnic Minority
Empowerment Project’ in partnership with Faith in London. In recent
years, it continued the training with funding from Fast Forward
Grant.
Training was provided in basic English language incorporating literacy,
numeracy, IT, food hygiene, job search skills, CV writing and interview
techniques. Classes were arranged for both men and women. There was a
crèche on site for women with children. Beneficiaries who completed the
training were entered for exams in both literacy and numeracy. Some of
them found work as a result of both the training and the confidence
they gained from taking part in the project.
As well as qualifications and job outcomes, the projects acted as a
platform for ‘hard to reach’ clients who would not usually access other
traditional means of training. A proportion of beneficiaries were
asylum seekers and refugees. Men and women from various ethnic
communities were attracted by the prospect of training in a culturally
sensitive environment. Several students went on to register on
other courses having acquired the initial confidence and motivation
from these projects.
ICC continues to encourage and support beneficiaries who have completed
the training and are now actively looking for work. It helps them
to write their CVs, covering letters, fill out application forms and
give them practical advice on job search. ICC has received positive
feedback from clients who have trained with it and made substantial
progress.
|
|
