Blog Archives
60+ people complete our 7-part Food Safety Coaching course
Please click Here or on the picture to view the lessons 🙂
We are very happy to say that over 60 people have attended and completed our Food Safety Coaching course at UiD.
We strive to meet the needs and exploit the interests of our community members when planning and delivering classes/training. This course was very popular as it is seen as being very useful for those who need to populate their CVs and ultimately find work in the future.
There will be a lot of people receiving certificates in the next few weeks. Well done to those who participated any many thanks indeed to our wonderful volunteers, without whom this would have been very difficult to manage given the high numbers of learners in the classes.
We provide the slideshows/materials freely for those who would like to review the course or have an interest.
Appeal for volunteer football coaches @ UiD FC
Owing to growing popularity of UiD FC we now have large numbers of people showing up and playing at our training sessions and matches.
Our coach is very concerned that with the large numbers attending people may not get as much out of it as they’d like. He is asking for help/support.
This is an ideal opportunity for someone with an interest in meeting people from diverse cultures and football coaching.
We have 2 training sessions a week, 2 hours on a Sunday and 2 hours on a Wednesday evening
If you or anyone you know is interested in football coaching and its benefits/social outcomes for this group of people please contact the UiD coach, Martin.
email: martiansparks@gmail.com
phone: 07932 400995
Additionally, we’d be very grateful for donations of any football equipment whatsoever also.
Well played UiD FC!
Saturday saw our second official game against another side, The Swansea Panthers.
It was an excellent turnout for our team with lots of players eager to have a go.
Many thanks to those that came along and played so hard/well against this long established team.
Great Players – Great Fun!
Our training sessions are well established now with lots of people enjoying getting together on Sundays AND Wednesdays now. Following our match with Swansea university staff we are focussed on developing our game and having regular healthy fun as a team.
Stay tuned for news of playing other teams soon.
Unity in Diversity Football Training – Flyer-Map-Info
*all photos are shared with express permission of those pictured.
Re-Cycle
One of the problems we encounter when talking to the people we support is that of transport. People are ‘placed’ in Swansea by the authorities and sometimes this can mean being up to 8 miles from the city centre where college courses are held, where community groups meet and where support is offered. Having very little to live on, paying expensive bus fares is often NOT an option. Being in a new/strange place and having to walk some distance in bad weather can compound already existing problems for people and hinder their chances of integrating in society. Alongside this people are often required to ‘sign in’ regularly at a location that is over 4 miles from the centre of Swansea.
This is where the RE-Cycle project comes in.
Over the last few years re-cycle has put around 3000 bikes back on the road in Swansea, all bikes were donated by people who would rather see their bike used rather than melted down for scrap. The not-for-profit social enterprise takes in donated bikes, selling 80% at low cost and the rest go to volunteers in exchange for their time.
Many of our friends at the Unity in Diversity group have benefited from being volunteers with the wonderful Ian at Re-Cycle. The ability to get around is vital for those on low-income and the sense of self-purpose is very important for those who are effectively in limbo most of the time due to uncertainties in their status and the lengthy procedures involved.
Millions of bicycles are discarded in the UK every year. Our whole society needs to address the waste of resources around us. Alongside this, cycling is a great from of exercise, especially with some of the stunning cycle paths we have here in the area. Re-Cyle addresses many different things in the way they work and we will always be very grateful for the way our friends are empowered, mobilised and valued in their contribution.
If you want to:
- Donate a bicycle
- Buy a good quality and affordable bicycle
- Volunteer your time and learn skills
- Refer someone to the scheme.
Go to their website -> https://recyclesouthwales.wordpress.com/
FINDING RE-CYCLE SWANSEA
Just off Bryn-y-Mor Road, in a courtyard behind the Mill Pub on Catherine Street, SA1 4NE.
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- Volunteers
Workers Education Association
The Unity in Diversity group has been helping people for over 5 years now. We are very happy with successes in helping people, that said this would not be possible at all without the kind help of organisations like the WEA.
The WEA has helped many many of our friends learn English (ESOL) as well as other subjects including ICT. Participating and receiving accreditation benefits the people we support in numerous ways, not only in speaking English etc.
Being able to communicate in the place where you live is a clear priority that leads to access to other services and communities. Other important outcomes are; having a sense of purpose, doing something constructive rather than being isolated and worrying about things, being able to populate a CV and having the ability to show the authorities that the individual is making relevant steps in their own development.
The courses provided are especially helpful as ESOL provision at local colleges is often booked up very quickly and enrolments are restricted to the academic year. The WEA offers classes all year round which helps us to get people in to active learning as soon as possible.
If you wish to study, or you know someone who would benefit from learning with the WEA you can visit their website here -> http://www.weacymru.org.uk/
For those who wish to study ESOL amongst other courses, visit the Swansea Bay Racial Equality council on the 3rd Floor in Grove House, Grove Place, Swansea, West Glamorgan SA1 5DF. Telephone: 01792 457035. Website: http://www.sbrec.org.uk/
7 – 6 to the Blues!!!!
Note: All photos are shared with express permission of ALL those pictured.
A very encouraging start to our recently revived football activities with 19 people playing. With our kind volunteers Martin (the coach) and Christelle, plus Lazlo and myself we were 25 happy souls enjoying a healthy afternoon’s activities.
UiD FC used to meet at the Recreation ground on Mumbles road but due to occasional events such as the Netherlands’ National Circus we rethought the location and decided to use the wonderful public provision of Hafod Park (SA5 9LE). This is much closer to many people’s homes and isn’t as busy as the Rec.
We are interested in how successfully everybody found the park. This ties in with our development of a digital directory that puts locations and details of help available in the hands of not only practitioners supporting this group but actually in to the hands of the people themselves. One gentleman showed me his smartphone and demonstrated how the Google map app had led him straight to the park – with a route from where he was! A task for our volunteers at the UiD group will be to collect info on what devices people use, to identify and recognise how well this is done as well as giving us the opportunity to plan workshops around improving skills needed.
We are hoping that as the weekly activity (Sundays 2pm to 4pm) develops we can extend welcome to families who can make use of the many different things available at the park. As the weather improves we can expect a table, chairs, juice etc to appear.
A word from our coach:
We are very pleased to see such an enthusiastic turnout. We are hoping that the improving weather allows us to dedicate more time to improve our technical ability and hone our clearly existing skills. I am confident that the people coming can give the needed commitment for us to grow in to a functional team – look out Chelsea! We’re coming to get you.
First Aid Training – More Sessions!!
Following an incredible amount of interest shown in the British Red Cross First Aid sessions we now have a second training planned.
We are very happy and grateful to have such engaging and relevant workshops and training available to the UiD members following our recent upheaval and transition. The folks at UiD have voted with their feet on this course which is obviously very relevant to them.
Many thanks to Liam O’Sullivan at British Red Cross for making this wonderful provision available.
Football is Back!!
Very happy to say that the weather is getting better and with it comes the return of the UiD football training sessions that are kindly facilitated by Martin, our FA qualified volunteer football coach.
Running on Sundays 2:00pm to 4:00pm The Unity in Diversity Football Club promotes and celebrates fun, friendship and healthy active participation. Thanks to Martin, our FA qualified football coach we strive to improve our football skills. We welcome anyone with an interest in friendships across diverse cultures and the development of their game.
Looking forward to seeing everyone there. Please remember that it is important to arrive at 2pm so that training can be finished leaving time for a decent game.
Please feel free to download, print and share our flyer/poster
Unity in Diversity Football Training – Poster-Map-Info
Up and Running
UiD is now on its second day of operations since our recent upheaval. Another busy evening with 30+ people attending. Many thanks to everyone for sharing information about the group, its location and opening times. Special thanks to BAWSO. Swansea City of Sanctuary and Swansea Bay Asylum Seekers Support Group.
Many thanks to Veronica and Alem from BAWSO for addressing the group about not suffering alone and how to get support in various ways. We are now looking forward to a scheduled awareness session with Veronica and Alem on Human Rights next Thursday. BAWSO does an excellent job of empowering community members to get involved with their work.
BAWSO is an all Wales, Welsh Government Accredited Support Provider, delivering specialist services to people from Black and Ethnic Minority backgrounds who are affected by domestic abuse and other forms of abuse, including Female Genital Mutilation, Forced Marriage, Human Trafficking & Prostitution.
We also had a wonderful ESOL lesson about Welsh culture focusing on St David’s day. Many thanks to Vivien once again.
Looking forward to some delicious food next week provided by the very kind Govinda’s.
UiD community member Mr. S, public speaking for the first time – being greatly empowered by visitors from BAWSO.
Veronica and Alem – Sharing Information
Another busy class focusing on Welsh culture and St David’s day
Unity in Diversity 