The Small Steps We Made This Year!

2020 has been a year like no other for everyone around the world. This has brought new challenges that as an organisation we have overcome together. As usual in early January we started the preparation and training with our 2020 volunteers who would travel to Tanzania, South Africa and Ghana however as the year progressed and the threat of the Corona Virus became a reality FOA decided that we would be unable to place volunteers or participate in our usual events at home.

Friends of Africa have managed to still hold firm the principles of solidarity and partnership during the pandemic and achieved more than we could have ever hoped without sending any volunteers to Africa.

As part of our mission to work with young people in Ireland and our partners in Africa, 24 people including this year’s volunteers completed their OCN Level 2 Youth Work Practice certificate.

In addition to our Summer Immersion Programme, we had entered into partnership with Coláiste Feirste and were facilitating both pupils and staff from the Irish Medium Secondary School to travel and work in solidarity with the Tsholofelo community in South Africa. Although they were not able to travel this year as planned, this was the first school immersion programme we have undertaken in recent years.

One of our biggest achievements this year was our 100km in 10 days fundraiser. Over 10 days we completed 11,321 km collectively raising £42,000 for our partners in Africa. This money raised was sent to 5 different partners in three countries.

In Ghana the money provided public health awareness through mass messaging and radio talk shows, providing the public with the correct information regarding Covid 19 and also provided essential PPE equipment for frontline workers.

In South Africa 250 meal packages were provided to the poorest families in the squatter camps. Initially this donation allowed for food aid to be provided to 100 children in temporary feeding stations within the communities and this was extended to provide meals for 300 children in local creches.

A mobile clinic was set up in Tanzania to support those in rural communities while promoting the public health messages around Covid 19.

This year we also supported a Tanzanian youth organisation called "Eushoi Organisation" as they accessed our Capability Building Grant. This helped them to participate in NGO training while working to support young people in their locality.

At home FOA were delighted to have supported the East African Youth Organisation in Belfast establish themselves as they work towards providing personal and social development opportunities for African migrants and refugees living in Belfast.

FOA were also able to contribute to the ongoing work of HAPANI, who during the first lockdown initiated their “One Child- One Device” Campaign. Covid-19 had forced HAPANI’s homework clubs to close. This meant that many children who are refugees and living in poverty were being deprived of an online education. HAPANI is aiming to provide laptops and internet to these underprivileged young people.

Considering the profound impact that Covid 19 would have on overseas volunteering, alongside our international projects, Friends of Africa began “virtual volunteering”. Through our network of contacts, Friends of Africa volunteers, in conjunction with Hamar Professional College, a social enterprise registered in Somalia, now offer online English language lessons to non-English speakers.

As part of CADA's One World Festival we hosted a virtual discussion on the subject, "Do Black Lives Matter in Belfast?" This event provided a unique opportunity to understand the injustices that are happening close to home and has inspired our own Black Lives Matter Diversity Policy that we have implemented as an organisation.

After the success of our previous FOA intern last year, this year we successfully selected three new interns, Dearbhla McGuone, Eoin Quinn and TJ McErlean who will be working alongside our members on various elements of our work and developing FOA as an organisation.

As we reflect on all of our successes from 2020 even in such unprecedented times we can look forward with hope to 2021. FOA have a number of exciting potential events planned including the launching of a Friends of Africa Summer Camp for African youth living in Belfast. For more information on upcoming events and projects please follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram or check our newly relaunched website, www.friendsofafrica.org.uk

Everyone at Friends of Africa would like to take this opportunity to thank you for all the support you show us as an organisation and wish you all a blessed and happy Christmas and a happy, healthy and safe New Year.

Friends of Africa

Small Steps Together