PROJECTS running before pandemic:

SAAFI has been running several projects before the Pandemic which each project was fully funded and were suspended during the pandemic.

Outreach programme at schools: SAAFI works with schools to help them understand family background from the troubled children and facilitate positive engagement for Somali parents who English is not their first language and have limited understanding of school/ education system in the UK and the schools.

In this programme: we also provide motivational mentoring for Somali students in to reach in their future attainment, mind-set, self-regulation of their behaviour, balancing life at home and school breaking expectations/standards.

Participating cultural festivals, exhibitions, and engaging with the Neighbourhoods and resident groups:
Saafi participate most of the once year festivals in the borough like Wembley Hearts Festival, all Harlesden based festival and Chalk Hill to ensure our representation among local group and encourage positive integration. We are currently a member of the following - Harlesden Town Team, Harlesden neighbourhood Forum, The unity Neighbourhood in Church Road End and Roundwood Estate. - Wembley Future - Harlesden Ward member and Harlesden Safer neighbourhood committee.
SAAFI is also an active member of Brent prevent and had all the related trainings in WRAP, Ganges, FGM, etc. Our organisation is very much aware and dealing with the knife crimes and its effects on daily basis and will be able to set up to do something about to reduce if is given the chance. Among the other activities we involve are: Our mental health advice and sign posting programme for both adult and young people.
Creative ESOL class for all communities in Wembley at THE YELLOW: We currently have 18 students from 9 different nationalities
Advice and Information: SAAFI is a member of Brent Advice Network and we provide advice on benefits, housing, health and education to the communities English is not their first language and sign post to the specialised agencies on the cases that we can’t deal with it.
Women to Women programme: Workshops and talks for women’s empowerment.
Elders club and inter-generational activities like Traditional crafts making and poetry programmes.

BEFORE Pandemic:

SAAFI is an organisation well known and respected within the community and the local authorities: We use to run fully funded projects before the pandemic which all been suspended during the pandemic, recreation centres and Brent libraries these include:

Advice and Information: SAAFI is a member of Brent Advice Network (BAN) and Brent council Hubs to provide advice, information and signposting on welfare benefits, housing, health and education to the communities English is not their first language and sign post to the specialised agencies on the cases that we can’t deal with it at Willesden Library.

Young people and combating knife crime awareness and gangs at Roundwood youth Centre. Expected to resume when government permits
Outreach programme at schools: SAAFI works with schools to help them understand family background from the troubled children and facilitate positive engagement for Somali parents who English is not their first language and have limited understanding of school/ education system in the UK and the schools.

Creative ESOL class for all communities in Wembley at THE YELLOW: We have 23 students from 9 different nationalities.
Workshops and training for empowering women and girls

Funding for these project activities is expected to resume along the government guidelines towards the end of the year.

During Pandemic and after:

We received 151 emergency calls within the first 2 weeks of lockdown from the most vulnerable people, elderly and those who just panicked asking us for an explanation of it is happening and we reassure them that we will be there to help in every step of the way. As a community organization we started emergency assistance: shopping, collecting medication, delivering food aid and supporting their emotional and mental health wellbeing.

The Coronavirus pandemic affected our community in different ways which include death, prolonged hospitalization, loss of jobs, redundancy and self-isolation. Many of those who died were the sole bread winners for their families and now the families are contacting us for help. There is another a group of vulnerable older people with underlying health condition who live alone and cannot speak a word of English who are were in our clients of older people’s support project before the endemic. We have regular contact with residents and have already identified households that urgently require emergency assistance. We have also established a support network via social media so that neighbours can refer critical families that need help. We receive referrals from the local council and other organisations who know of our work in the local community group who do not speak English. We have strong ties to those in the local community and as such are in a unique vulnerable position from the hard to reach communities that need help.

SAAFI is providing a safety net to many residents from BAME in Brent and particularly Harlesden and Church End road which the highest death number in the country according (ONS) especially those that English by providing emotional and mental health support, front line work like emergency food supplies and basic essentials. The Coronavirus pandemic affected our community in different ways which include death, prolonged hospitalization, loss of jobs, redundancy and self-isolation. Many of those who died were the sole bread winners for their families and now the families are contacting us for help. There is another a group of vulnerable older people with underlying health condition who live alone and cannot speak a word of English who are were in our clients of older people’s support project before the endemic. We have regular contact with residents and have already identified households that urgently require emergency assistance. We have also established a support network via social media so that neighbours can refer critical families that need help. We receive referrals from the local council and other organisations who know of our work in the local community group who do not speak English. We have strong ties to those in the local community and as such are in a unique position to reach those that most need help. We will rigorously follow government guidelines through each stage of this project. We will make sure that everyone involved understands the steps they need to take to protect our beneficiaries; especially given that many are at greater risk of the virus. This project is a new project and is providing practical advice, information and guidance to cope with the experience of the last 12 weeks and recover from it. We will continue providing emergency food, medication and essentials. A dedicated staff and volunteers for the recovery period will be employed and equip them with the digital knowledge and remote and faster response.

Our workload has increased of 400% during the crisis from a normal year of 427. We are dealing the impact of the pandemic which job losses, redundancy, homelessness, mental and emotional health issues. We also regularly provide the following:

Food and essential items.
a significant number of COVID-19 related deaths affected the entire households, as the deceased was the sole breadwinner for the family
Share information regarding COVID-19 in the languages spoken by those in our community; those who do not speak English are struggling to get clear information regarding the current situation.
Support for those that are self-isolating due to being at high risk of the virus.
Support for people with developing or existing mental health conditions, who have suffered a psychological impact due to the current crisis.
We have engaged 14 young volunteers who speak different 5 local languages from the different communities who works with us.
We developed a good working relationship with all local mutual Aid groups and voluntary sector organisations to share clients and learn from each other.
We have trainings from the health professionals in Infection control and how to prevent another.
We distributed PPE to those who can not afford at this time
We distribute health messages through leaflets, posters and public information in the local languages through the shops, religious places and community centres

SAAFI is one of the front-line organisations in Brent and particularly Church End and Harlesden which is been hit hard by the Corona Virus and had the highest deaths in the country. We are providing emergency assistance alongside with other voluntary organisations and local mutual aid groups. We receive referrals from the local council and other organisations in the areas of mental health, advice and information and emergency provision at several levels.

We are committed ourselves to see:

Reduced hunger - our most vulnerable residents will not go hungry during the current crisis.
Improved mental health and wellbeing - those who have suffered a psychological impact due to COVID-19 will receive counselling support in their local language.
Increased social cohesion - our community will work together to support those who have difficulty understanding English

The work we have undertaken in Brent has been recognised widely and at several levels. We also received emergency funding and support from Brent council and others:

In June/July our work with in Covid 19 has been covered by the Guardian newspaper, BBC London, Sky News, ITV and Ch4. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/jun/27/people-were-abandoned-injustices-of-pandemic-laid-bare-in-brent
In May 2020, we received from the Mayor of the London Borough of Brent a certificate of recognition for the work we have undertaken to save lives, keep people safe, and stop the spread of COVID-19.

The work we have undertaken in Brent has been recognised at several levels.

In June/July our work with in Covid 19 has been covered by the Guardian newspaper, BBC London, Sky News, ITV and Ch4. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/jun/27/people-were-abandoned-injustices-of-pandemic-laid-bare-in-brent
In May 2020, we received from the Mayor of the London Borough of Brent a certificate of recognition for the work we have undertaken to save lives, keep people safe, and stop the spread of COVID-19.
SAAFI is an organisation well known and respected within the community for its work with young people and combatting knife crime. In 2018, we were one of two organisations who won the Peace and Reconciliation award.
In 2019, Rhoda Ibrahim (Director of SAAFI) was among 160 guests from the UK Faith and Voluntary sector who were invited to a reception hosted by The Queen at Buckingham Palace. This is just another example that shows our work is recognised and respected in London. We highly value the partnerships and networks we have created throughout the years, as local cooperation between members of the community is of vital importance in tackling challenging situations that residents must encounter.
This is even more important now as we all face difficult personal situations due to the current crisis and only as a community, we will be able to combat this situation.
The following is an example of organisations that we belong to: • Member of the Police Safe Neighbourhood Forum • Member of the Wembley Futures Neighbourhood Group • Member of the Brent Forum for Refugees. • Member of the Council of Somali Organisations. • Member of the Youth Brent Foundation • Member of the Safer Neighbourhood Teams in Harlesden • Member of PREVENT in Brent