At Fight for Peace, we are extremely proud to be part of the North Woolwich community in east London – we have been here since our Academy opened in 2007! Being part of a community is not about location, it’s about strong relationships and common goals. Chief among these goals remains working together to support our local young people.
With the incredible, and often urgent and spontaneous work that the people, services and businesses in North Woolwich do in support of young people, particularly those in vulnerable situations, this is a relationship that we are not only very proud of, but that we deeply appreciate.
We asked our Mentoring Coordinator and Outreach Lead, Sérgio Prata to share his thoughts on the vital ongoing collaboration between Fight for Peace and our community, in support of our young people.
The message from me is that we are stronger together, and most importantly – we see what our community is doing to support young people. We recognise it and are hugely appreciative of it. It’s so important to celebrate the vital work that’s being done.
Cases where vulnerable young people dealing with complex issues have been supported by local people and services, demonstrates the enormous power that is contained when an organisation and the community work closely together.
We have seen residents, local shop owners and community organisations in North Woolwich go to huge lengths to help, providing a vital first response of shelter, food, and sanitary products. We’ve seen them seeking to understand very complex situations and alerting specialist support agencies.
Some of those who provide support are facing their own substantial challenges on a daily basis – yet they find the courage, time and resources to help. This makes me feel so proud to be part of the North Woolwich community.
It’s not just individuals that are offering extraordinary support, local service providers like the Royal Docks Learning and Activities Centre (RDLAC) have been doing amazing things for many years – providing food, services and information. This organisation’s standing in the community and the power of working together came to the fore during recent lockdowns when we partnered with RDLAC to help distribute food to Fight for Peace members and their families who could not get to the food bank themselves.
The ultimate aim is for us all to work collaboratively in such a way that we make sure that all of our young people are safe and supported.
On behalf of myself and of Fight for Peace I want to say an enormous and heartfelt thank you to our North Woolwich community for the extraordinary work it does. May we continue to always look after each other and those that most need our support, continue to work together to safeguard our young people, and continue to build the bonds of friendship and collaboration between us.