Meeting of Cardinal and Imams to visit community social action projects

The Santa Marta Group accompanied president Cardinal Vincent Nichols to an interfaith visit of senior leaders to the London Borough of Newham. Together with Imam Dr Sayed Ali Abbas Razawi, Sheikh Ibrahim Mogra, Maulana Syed Ali Raza Rizvi, and Imam Qari Asim, we were grateful to be hosted by the Borough and Mayor Rokhsana Fiaz on a guided tour of several social action initiatives bringing support to some of the most vulnerable people in Newham. This included:

Welcome Newham, the Council’s One Stop Shop service for refugees and people seeking asylum, held weekly at Stratford Library. As well as a friendly and welcoming space, staff provide advice and support with access to healthcare, benefits, school places, and English lessons, all helping people to feel less isolated and lost in a complicated system that’s new to them.

London Black Women’s Project, a specialist refuge accommodation for women and children (of South Asian, Caribbean and African heritage) experiencing multiple forms of domestic abuse. The refuge provides strong inter-faith dialogue and supports residents to practise their faith when this has been removed from their lives as part of their abuse. Here we had insightful conversations around the power of faith leaders to change cultures of indifference, and to work towards practical collaborative solutions.

Your Place, an award-winning homelessness accommodation project, working with rough sleepers on preparing them for work and independent living. Here we heard about and were able to witness first-hand the work done to maintain service users’ dignity and individuality through their time of temporary accommodation.

As a charity invested in meaningful, lasting change, we know that we must be concerned with the intersection of social disadvantages. Those people experiencing the multiple disadvantages represented through our visit to Newham – precarious housing, insecure immigration status, abusive relationships – are far more likely to experience human trafficking and modern slavery. Vulnerability to trafficking is compounded by vulnerability through poverty, social marginalisation, and abuse. As such, it is crucial that we uplift the impactful social action work being carried out by countless inspiring organisations in our communities, many based in faith.

“In these times which are so fraught with hate and division and polarisation, we’re absolutely commited to being part of a national movement of individuals who are motivated to want to change the world.” - Mayor Rokhsana Fiaz, OBE

Change must come from a high level, through policy and legislative reform. But it must also come from a shift in culture. Cardinal Nichols articulated perfectly how it felt to witness this positive movement:

“Today is about good news on the streets of this city, and this borough, which needs to be shouted from the rooftops. People are good.”