Women

Glasgow Community Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund

• Cooking activities

We delivered healthy cooking classes online via zoom. Our online cooking programme was developed to give skills, confidence and inspiration to young people – through them, their parents and others in their local community – to prepare and cook good, healthy food. The aim of the programme was to have local community movement online cooking classes, helping to improve cooking skills and to promote eating healthier, more nutritious food.

Young people took the lead in establishing and running the programme, with the support of volunteers, staff and other interested community members. We thought up healthy dishes and then decided how we would be able to deliver the classes in such a way that would motivate the participants to have a desire to cook the dish again with their family. The programme was made flexible on order to meet the needs of individuals and the general local community. We have delivered ten online cooking sessions, which took place once a month. The Shopping for the ingredients is done the day before the delivery. The ingredients are then place in food delivery bag the following day and deliveries were made to the participants’ respective addresses the day before the class. One session composed of five participants. When a cooking date was scheduled, we would send a message to around ten parents to inform them of the date of the intended class and asked them if they would both be available for the child to take part. Five positive replies confirmed the class. We then would create a zoom meeting and send out the link with the Menu making sure the participants are fully prepared for the sessions. The programmed supported and provided cooking skills and techniques to 50 young people from our communities.
The sessions enabled those who participated to have the opportunity to learn different cooking techniques. The stress free environment allowed for participants to enjoy the experience. It gave them the option of taking part in an educational form of recreation that can help improve their overall mental health and wellbeing.

The vast majority of respondents strongly welcomed and encouraged the African Challenge Scotland Cooking programme. Responses included the following:

• A desire to learn cooking skills among young people and parents
• A growing need for cooking classes
• A lack of cooking skills and knowledge (among young people and parents) and the difficulty to achieve a healthy diet that arises from this
• The very limited knowledge of cooking skills in the local community

It was agreed that encouraging kids and families to eat healthy would have a positive effect on their health and wellbeing, also aiding in the fight against obesity. Lack of cooking skills was said to be one of the main factors responsible for dietary related illnesses. The lack of cooking skills, loss of good food culture, and the gradual change to fast convenience and snack foods in our community were seen as the main causes of poor diet. The reasons given were lack of time, and the constant advertising and promotion of convenience foods by the supermarkets and the overall food industry.

A fourteen-year-old boy agreed to participate in the cooking class that was delivered on Saturday the 2nd of September 2022 at four o’clock in the afternoon. The dish was chicken breast ratatouille with white rice. When the ingredients were delivered the day before the class, his mum said “He does not even like coming into the kitchen when I am cooking”. After the class the boy said. “I actually enjoyed the cooking and I will take this opportunity to cook for my family sometimes. It was very interesting and satisfying. It gave me a sense of achievement. The dish is easy to cook; the recipe is simple to follow. The food is healthy and very tasty.”

An eighteen-year-old girl participated in the cooking class delivered on the 6th of April 2022. The dish was stuffed cabbage.

She was looking for a cooking class to improve her cooking skills and learn easy ways to cook a healthy food. She said “I am very thankful that African Challenge has given me the opportunity to be part of this program. The food is nice, easy to cook and very healthy. I will be cooking very often and save a lot of money on take away.”

A thirteen year old girl participated in the class with the dish prepared being SAUTEED SPINACH WITH SMOKED MACKEREL AND SWEET POTATOES. When the ingredients were delivered she said “spinach and sweet potatoes are the type of vegetables my family don’t buy. I don’t know how it will taste” after the class she said “I love art and I can see that the way you present your dish is a form of art. I love it. The colour is amazing the taste is beautiful I really like it. My family will be cooking spinach and sweet potatoes very often thank you!”

Young Person, participant said: “I thought the African Challenge Scotland Cooking class was a great experience. It has really inspired me to become involved in cooking and helping my parents at home. It has helped me to experiment with different types of foods, and especially vegetables that I have never heard of! My dream is to become a professional Chef. I had a lot of fun at this programme.”

Volunteer, participant said: “Cooking should be seen as a right for every young person in our diverse communities across Glasgow who wants it and in my experience, most do.”
Hatem Johnson, African Challenge Scotland President said: “At African Challenge Scotland, we have a unique and strong culture of caring. Our cooking programme was a great idea and volunteers running the cooking programme have good background knowledge of food and practical skills. They were able to show young people the best and safest way to prepare and cook food i.e. safe knife skills, food and personal hygiene etc.”

Strengths of our programme:

• It is important for young people to have the skills and knowledge to eat healthily because habits are set early. Cooking skills can be used throughout their life.
• Practical learning is always best. Our cooking classes increased confidence and the concentration skills of participants. It was therapeutic, it brought social benefits and it was fun, informative, and interactive.
• It was appealing. Young people engaged with their friends via zoom and this was helpful as they gained confidence working together, without the pressure of assessment.
• Children can influence the family. Although teenagers can be difficult to engage with, through our programme young people led and were involved, as a result they will be good advocates.
• During the online classes, participants’ whole families were able to get involved in the session. This had a positive impact on those participating. Parents could encourage and guide the children at home. If there were other children in the home, they too would get involved making it a pleasurable family experience.
• Prior to each of the sessions, recipes were given out to all those who were going to participate. This was very useful as the participants came from different ethnic backgrounds. It allows for the participant and their family to follow the recipe again in their own time, and as many times as they would like, helping them vary their diet.
• Young people learned so much and they will be able to use this knowledge to improve their cooking skills and overall mental health and wellbeing.

Physical and sport activities

Over the past year, we have delivered a Community Health and Wellbeing Programme, with a focus on physical wellbeing. As part of this programme, sessions take place every Saturday in a pre-booked sports hall in Springburn. Those taking the lead during the sessions would welcome all those in attendance and supply them with African Challenge Scotland sports vest. Due to the pandemic the vests were constantly washed in order to keep cleanliness. The main purpose of the vest is that if one of the young persons in attendance was to get lost or wander off, there is an easy means of identification, making it possible for them to have a safe return to the venue.

Many different sporting activities are delivered during the sessions. The young ones in attendance have the opportunity to play badminton, basketball, volleyball, football, table tennis and other team games/team building activities with the equipment provided to us from the reception at the leisure centre. The members and volunteers taking the lead ensure that there are times of rotation, allowing for everyone in attendance to have the chance to take part in all the activities. Bottles of water are provided throughout the session. At times face painting and balloon twisting was made available for the younger ones in attendance. Free clothes, toys and essentials would be placed out on tables and those taking the lead ensured everyone was made aware and could take what they needed away with them. Pizza, water and packed lunches to go were provided. Prior to the sessions, shopping for the refreshments provided at the sessions was carried out. Towards the end, a game of musical chairs took place and the winners got a prize. The use of refreshments and prizes has been found to be a good way to encourage young ones to return and invite friends to attend future sessions.

A lot of progress has been made over the course of the last year. More people have wanted to get involved and overtime we have successfully been able to add more activities for people to take part in. We have gained a lot of new and regular participants.

Of course there are always challenges, one of them being that many of our participants are Asylum Seekers and/or live far away. This poses a challenge as the cost of getting to and from the leisure centre is a struggle for some, and many are not eligible for the free bus travel. To overcome this, African Challenge Scotland has often arranged for volunteers to pick up and drop off the young participants.

Another thing is that participants come at different times, many being late. This means that a lot of the young ones cannot spend as much time as they would have liked to on paying games and taking part in activities. This also poses a challenge to those taking the lead as they don’t have an accurate idea of how many people are going to take part, making it difficult to organise the activities. To overcome this we brought on more activities that could be done in groups no matter how big so that even though they are late they can still be involved.

Around 200 young people and 25 volunteers have taken part in our project’s activities to date. Some Saturday’s are more crowded than others. This means that you don’t know what to expect, this can at times be exciting, making us more eager to carry out the session.

Sometimes accidents arose when the younger attendees would play together. However, due to the venue being a leisure centre, there are many employees, as well as volunteers, qualified to perform first aid on these ones and the session can continue to run smoothly.

Many of the participants had not previously been involved in any sort of club similar to the one we had provide.

One teenage participant said “Before I started coming to the Saturday Club, I really struggled with making friends with those in the African community. I had not had the opportunity to come across many of them and this made me feel lonely at times. The Saturday sessions have really helped me come out my shell, I feel like I belong somewhere and the fact that lots of the people running are similar in age to me makes them easy to talk to. I always have something to look forward to during the week.”

One of our younger participants said “I have so much fun here. I can make new friends and play new games. Everyone is very nice and I really like it.”

A lot of the parents in our community have come forward and said that they have been looking for a programme like this one. Many of their children struggle with making friends and opening up. One parent in particular had said that her six year old daughter was very shy. She barely spoke and wasn’t easy to get through to. Recently at the sport centre though, we have noted that she has really begun to enjoy the activities. Her favourite sport to play is badminton. The more she attended the sessions, the better she would become at certain activities. This helped increase her confidence. Gradually made friends during our sessions and showed more of her personality as time went on, many hearing her talk for the first time. Thanks to Glasgow Council for the Voluntary Sector (GCVS) through their Glasgow Community Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund.

African Challenge Scotland – Jacobs Work Experience Programme

The work experience week took place at Jacobs’ office at 95 Bothwell Street, Glasgow. The week was aimed at students in S5. It was highly interactive and exciting opportunity for the pupils to enhance their knowledge of STEAM careers in addition to developing their interpersonal skills such as communication, negotiation, time management etc. 5 young people from African Challenge Scotland participated on the programme.

The week involved a project running over the full five days. The pupils was split into teams, working together to create a festival. In addition to enhancing their STEAM knowledge, STEAM ambassadors discussed important topics that needed to be applied to their challenge and to their careers more generally, such as growth mindsets and sustainability.

Jacobs has STEAM ambassadors with knowledge across subjects that helped young people such as aeronautical engineering, geology, landscape architecture, transport planning, ecology, waste management – just to name a few!

Over the course of the week young people got a chance to meet them and they gave them some key design considerations.

The programme introduced our young people into the wide range of STEAM disciplines that will come together to make this project a reality from architects and engineers through to project managers and safety specialists. In addition to focusing on the technical skills the programme introduced our young people to some of the key skills they will need in the workplace in the 21st century such as creativity, reading and combining data from multiple different sources.

Radio Clyde Cash for Kids - Basic Essentials Family Grant - Christmas 2022

We supported and distributed vouchers to 150 children within 97 households across Glasgow to celebrate Christmas during the existing cost of living crisis. This programme was funded by Radio Clyde Cash for Kids through their Basic Essentials Family Grant.

Children 1: “Thanks to cash for kids for the amazing support. I will be able to have a nice jumper and foods for Christmas.”

Children 2: “Thank you cash for kids”

Young people 1: “Thanks for the support during this difficult time. You are doing a great job in our community.”

Young people 2: “I am very grateful to cash for kids.”

Parent 1: “Huge thanks to cash for kids and African Challenge Scotland. I will buy something nice for my child.”

Parent 2: “Cash for kids is doing an amazing job. Thank you and to all their staffs and volunteers.”

Young people 3 said “I was worried that I would not get a present this Christmas. Because, my parents told me that the cost of living has gone up, and that the electricity bills has increased, my parents are not currently working and it is difficult for us to heat the house and buy foods at the same time. Therefore, I really appreciate this support for Christmas. Thanks to cash for kids."

Children 3 said: "I never receive a voucher as a Christmas present. Thank you to cash for kids. My parent will buy me a nice present. Huge thanks."

African Challenge Scotland Project Manager: “Delighted to receive and distribute this grants to families. They were all happy and grateful for the vouchers. With the existing rising cost of living it is very hard for Black families to cope during this on-going crisis. Therefore, this support is immense. Thanks Cash for Kids.”

Hatem Johnson, African Challenge Scotland President said: “At African Challenge Scotland, we have a unique and strong culture of caring. This programme was a great idea and volunteers and staffs running the delivery programme have good background knowledge of community and practical skills. They were able to engage and distribute the voucher to kids through their parents. Huge thanks to Cash for kids and the donors.”

African Challenge Scotland – Toonspeak Community Event

We partnered up with Toonspeak including other organisations locally to provide a community event held at the Springburn Community village and in Springburn Park. Everything was free. The aim of the programme was to promote, celebrate and develop a more inclusive and diverse community where everyone can feel confident, flourish and enjoy. We provided a free stall for African barbecue to the wider community. Over 2500 people came along to enjoy an afternoon of BBQ, music and games. Thanks to everyone who helped or supported and to Jools Walls who organised the event and to all our volunteers who were still smiling even after 6 hours cooking on the BBQ.
African Challenge Scotland – Glasgow Science Centre - STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics)

Improving Young People's Engagement with Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM).

Many young people from more socially privileged (White, middle-class) backgrounds regularly participated in informal STEAM learning regardless of their STEAM interest.

On the other hand, many minority ethnic and working-class young people in our youth club reported being interested in STEAM and aspired to working in STEAM jobs, yet rarely took part in designed and community informal STEAM learning offers.

We worked with a range of companies, including Glasgow Science Centre to ensure that all young people receive the best possible STEAM education.

Understanding and supporting parents and carers as key influencers of young people who are making decisions about their future is an integral part of our programme.

African Challenge Scotland Winter Social Wellbeing

Our activities focused on 200 New Scots Glaswegians over 16 years and adults from Black Asian Minority Ethnic communities and:

• Supported young people over 16 and adults currently experiencing challenging circumstances
• Supported people who have experienced abuse
• Tackled loss, isolation or loneliness
• Supported people that experience discrimination
• Supported people facing financial hardship
• Improved social, economic and environmental sustainability

Our sport, physical and well-being activities were completed in Glasgow Club Springburn on Saturdays, 10 Kay St, Glasgow G21 1JY and SoccerWorld Glasgow, Soccerworld Croft, 20 Croftcroighn Rd, Glasgow G33 3SL on Sundays.

Many different sporting activities were delivered during the sessions. Young people and adults in attendance have the opportunity to play badminton, basketball, volleyball, football, table tennis and other team games/team building activities with the equipment provided to us from the reception at the leisure centres. The staff, members and volunteers taking the lead ensure that there are times of rotation, allowing for everyone in attendance to have the chance to take part in all the activities.

Refreshments to go were provided. A lot of progress has been made over the course of weeks. More people have wanted to get involved and overtime we have successfully been able to add more activities for people to take part in. We have gained a lot of new and regular participants.

Of course there are always challenges, one of them being that some of our participants were Asylum Seekers and/or live far away and low income. This poses a challenge as the cost of getting to and from the leisure centre was a struggle for some, and many are not eligible for the free bus travel. To overcome this, African Challenge Scotland has often arranged for volunteers to pick up and drop off the young participants.

200 young people and adults gained skills and improved their health and well-being by participating in our sport and physical and well-being activities.

200 young people and adults benefit from our activities, support and opportunities to improve their lives.

200 young people and adults demonstrated leadership during sessions and educating and engaging with their community around diversity and exclusivity.

200 New Scots Glaswegians over 16 years and adults gained hands on experience, skills, empowerment which will be transferred into the communities having a positive impact on them. They have become confident individuals and maintained better relationships with their families and communities.

Thanks to funding from Impact Funding and partners.

African Challenge Scotland Hardship Programme

The Black and ethnic minority communities in Glasgow suffered during the pandemic. A failure to learn lessons from the past will result in a growing economic gap, disproportionately increasing the risk of deep poverty amongst many Black and minority ethnic households across Glasgow and beyond. Although the support was greatly appreciated. As an organisation we believe that more needs to be done to unlock the potential and create employment opportunities for Black and minority ethnic communities. The past economic crises have increased racial inequalities below the poverty line. As we head into a new crisis of living standards, targeted and tailored support is urgently needed to ensure ethnic minority people don’t fall further behind. Without continued and significant public investment in social security and infrastructures, and tailored commitments to job security and fair wages, Black and minority ethnic communities in Glasgow in particular will continue to face hardships unknown for generations.

Thanks to Corra Foundation through their Household Hardship Fund - National Lottery.

We supported 52 families and 1 individual (approx. 170 people). People of Black and Asian origin in Glasgow are struggling with paying their bills and buying African foods. What we discovered in our communities is that those on lower incomes are being crushed between rising energy bills, African foods, toiletries, essential items and housing costs, including those on pre-payment meters, renters, and people with disabilities, Black or Black British people and Asian or Asian British people. And the pressure is only going to get worse when the school resume in August 2023 in Glasgow. The majority of 52 families and 1 individual (approx. 170 people) that we supported from this project were from Black and ethnic minorities’ communities. Those Black and minority ethnic people are heavily over-represented amongst the lowest-income groups, and are currently experiencing much higher levels of food insecurity, material deprivation and fuel poverty as a result of the cost of living crisis. The majority are unemployed. Some Black and minority ethnic women have highlighted that they are currently receiving less in cash benefits than they did a decade ago. And this has had a negative impact and made it difficult to raise their kids and children.

Support provided to families in this programme included providing cash for Food, Toiletries, essentials, Clothing and Utilities/Fuel.

Family 1 said: “I am very grateful for this support. I am a single mum and unemployed, and my daughter is in Secondary school. The cost of everything is up and I cannot afford to heat my home and buy foods as before from the African shop. Thanks for the service that you guys provide in our communities. You are saving lives.”

Family 2 said: “I used a pre-paid token meter because I cannot afford a direct debit from my energy provider. I am paying too much electricity in the house, I am a single mum of three and it is becoming very difficult for me and my kids. I have looked for employment but I am still unsuccessful and I am keeping trying. This support is GREAT. Thank you.”

Springburn Community Street Festival

At African Challenge Scotland, we have a strong culture of caring.

We hosted a stall during the Springburn Community Street Festival in partnership with Spirit of Springburn and other local organisations.

We valued and highlighted the fantastic range of African cultures through the African fashion design, the African Cuisines and Arts, thus developing the spirit of multiculturalism and tolerance, thus providing a networking opportunity for people from different ethnic background.

This was an opportunity for non-Africans to learn about the variety of African cultures and to learn and change their perceptions about their cultural identities, and also to improve their unconscious bias. Over 4000 participants attended the festival.

Our exposition brought unity and educated both the young and old about Afro Dress up Cultures.

We featured demonstrations, and other activities. Participants learned about textile and adornment and improved their knowledge about Africa.

The Festival brought communities together, as demonstrated by the fact we had different faith groups attending festival, promoting community spirit and cohesion.

BCC Scotland's People 2022 – A special thank you!

BBC Scotland’s People’s Awards pays tribute to our founder Ronier Deumeni based in Glasgow, who founded African Challenge Scotland (ACS) in 2013 to help tackle challenges and barriers for young people, by creating opportunities for the black, minority ethnic (BME) communities in Glasgow.

Presenting BBC Scotland’s People 2022 in December 2022, Jackie Bird surprised some of Scotland’s unsung heroes who go above and beyond, including Ronier Deumeni, recognised for his incredible work with local communities.

Jackie paid tribute to Glasgow-based Ronier for his huge impact supporting African and other ethnic groups within communities. In 2013, Ronier founded African Challenge Scotland, a voluntary Scotland-wide organisation which helps relieve poverty, advance education and promote cultural and sporting links to build more successful integrated communities.
During the pandemic, he coordinated weekly emergency food deliveries to nearly 4,000 families across Glasgow, as well as IT equipment and free internet access to support black, minority ethnic families.

Always going above and beyond helping local communities in Scotland, Our founder Ronier Deumeni is recognised with the BBC Scotland People’s Award for his incredible work to relieve poverty, advance education, and support more integrated communities.

Quote from Ronier...”I want to thank my family, the entire communities in Glasgow, African Challenge Scotland board members and members, all volunteers, and young ambassadors, funders, and stakeholders, all my colleagues and the Jacobs family, for their continued support. This would not have been possible without the support and amazing assistance received from all. I am so grateful. Inclusion and diversity matters. Openness to diversity widens access to the best talent. Inclusion allows engagement with talent effectively. Equality enables delivery of fair outcomes. Together, this leads to enhanced innovation, creativity, productivity, reputation, engagement and business results. I dedicate this award to the entire ethnic minorities and deprived communities across Glasgow and Scotland.”

Her Majesty the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee

Her Majesty the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee is a significant moment in history, as she becomes the first British Monarch to mark 70 years of service.

Ronier Deumeni have been awarded the honour of Platinum Champion through Her Majesty the Queen’ s patronage of Royal Voluntary Service , for outstanding service and dedication to Crisis and Welfare.

The Duchess of Cornwall has crowned 490 volunteers “Platinum Champions”, calling them “the backbone of our country”.

From a national identification of more than 200,000 eligible candidates, only 490 were handpicked to be crowned Platinum Champions.

Quote from Ronier...”I am truly privileged, humbled and honoured beyond words that my hard work and efforts helping and assisting others have been acknowledged and that I’ve been named a Platinum Champion. Thank you to all those who have inspired me to constantly endeavour to create positive change. This honour is entirely yours and any 'medal' is absolutely for you.”

African Challenge Scotland – Royal Army

We partnered with Royal Army to provide workshops to young people and families from Black and underrepresented communities across Glasgow.
African Challenge Scotland – nghomes (North Glasgow Housing Association)

We partnered with nghomes to support Black and Asian minority tenants in North Glasgow. Including asylum seekers with language barriers.
Our projects provided ways for tenants to get involved, socialise, become more active and really make a difference to the place where they live.
We have been working with nghomes to support the community, including residents who were struggling with pressures brought on or worsened by the cost of living.
With the initial focus on financial insecurities, we offered food packages and fuel vouchers to those facing immediate crisis.

African Challenge Scotland – Glasgow City Health and Social Care Partnership

We partnered with Glasgow social services to provide a variety of services which aim to:

• ensure the safety and protection of vulnerable adults, young people and children
• support individuals and families to maintain independence and to exercise choice about the way they live their lives

African Challenge Scotland – Police Scotland

We partnered with police Scotland to support Black and ethnic minority families.

We know that people who are involved in the justice system, by and large, come from backgrounds of deprivation and inequality and the lack of opportunities that often come with that.

Addressing these inequalities and barriers across themes such as health, education, employability, family support, housing etc., and empowering our citizens to be the best they can be, lies at the heart of both the Community Empowerment and Community Justice agendas.

African Challenge Scotland – Glasgow Theatres

We partnered up with Glasgow Theatres to tackle workplace diversity and create employment opportunities for young people and women in Glasgow North East. The partnership was looking at diversifying the theatre’s Customer Experience Team through positive discrimination and encourage young people to consider the employment programme. The aim of the programme is to promote and develop a more inclusive and diverse workplace.

African Challenge Scotland – Employability Programme

We partnered with Jobs & Business Glasgow, people plus, pathway, and police Scotland through their Employability Support for Under-Represented Communities, Fair Start Scotland and Introduction To Policing Programme. The aim was to engage with the local community to help people secure jobs or training. We also worked with asylum seekers to help them gain employability skills through various training programmes/ volunteering opportunities as we are well aware of the limitations put on asylum seekers against getting into employment, this opportunity will help them gain the necessary skills and experience for when they are able to work.

Pandemic

During the pandemic:
We provided a lifeline to many African families across Glasgow and beyond. We secured funding from the government and others funding organisations to enable us to purchase and then distribute African food to families who would otherwise not have been able to access it. African families were being disproportionately affected as the food they are used to is not widely available in Scottish supermarkets. People were unable to access for a variety of reasons - they were shielding, sick, had no access to transport. Many of them were asylum seekers who were isolated with young children. The support provided by us made a massive difference to people's psychological wellbeing.We coordinated weekly emergency food deliveries to over 3758 hard-pressed and self-isolating families (over 11315 people) across Glasgow. This initiative received recognition in the form of a Parliamentary Motion in both Scottish and UK Parliaments. The first Parliament Motion (No. S5M-22030) raised by Bob Doris MSP, and the second Parliament Motion (EDM 781) raised by Anne McLaughlin MP.Through Connecting Scotland, SCVO and North Glasgow Housing Association, we received 50 Chromebooks and 50 mobile WiFi device (MiFi) with unlimited data for 24 months. We coordinated the distribution of these assets to support BAME families who were digitally excluded and on low incomes across Glasgow and our young ambassador volunteers attended training organised by SCVO. Our founder, Ronier input feature in Gareth Jones’s article about Connecting Scotland Programme, which aims to tackle digital exclusion in Scotland (https://tfn.scot/magazine/may-2021/read).During school closures, 275 children and young people benefited from our programme and 7 STEM Ambassadors participated in the programme from January-April 2021. Support provided including literacy, numeracy, problem solving skills and STEAM subjects. This initiative received recognition in the form of a Parliamentary Motion (No. S6M-00244) raised by Bob Doris MSP.