## **Unity in Diversity (2015) CIO** 

## **Annual General Meeting** 

## **29[th] July 2021** 

## **Chairs Report** 

Our AGM last year took place 4 months into Lockdown and as a charity we had already started to look to new additional ways in which we could support the members of the asylum seeker community known to UiD.  This report highlights the journey we have continued to travel in the context of Covid 19 using our 9 broad areas of work as a guide. 

**Open Times at the Unitarian Church in Swansea city centre:** from what had been our biggest area of activity: the ability to offer social time, hold English classes and share a meal, was for a long time our smallest area of activity.  We opened in September for 2 weeks following Covid guidelines, before we had to close again.  Each of these sessions was attended by an average of 18 people, including 12 new attendees and Mary Hayward, Associate Artist with Glyn Vivian Art Gallery led sessions to gain ideas for art work for banners to celebrate Swansea’s 10[th] Year of City of Sanctuary and teacher Paddy taught English lessons. 


**----- Start of picture text -----**<br>
In Victoria Park!<br>**----- End of picture text -----**<br>


In May we began to open up and met face to face in Victoria Park on 2 occasions and then in June we opened once more at the Unitarian Church, under strict Covid safety regulations for organised activities with up to 30 people, and have continued to do so:  Thursdays, 4.30pm to 6.45pm, with a craft session followed by an Intermediate English Class, led by English teacher Neil.  Mary once again has continued to support our craft sessions as has our volunteer Viv.   Light refreshments are 

served throughout by volunteer Gemma.   Bags of food are available for people to take away.   Attendance levels are good while allowing us to keep to the maximum 30 people allowance.  We have also created a new open time of Tuesday mornings from 10.00 to 11.00 a.m so that we can hold a Beginners English Class taught by teacher Heidi and continue our Gardening Project. 

**Outreach:** This has been achieved through giving food support and meeting requests from our UiD community to the Clothing Bank. 

1. Food support:  Two teams of dedicated volunteers have delivered food every week. One team (6 volunteers involved) makes weekly deliveries to an average 32 differing addresses across Swansea with most households receiving support on a fortnightly basis.  This includes multi-occupancy addresses.  Another team delivers to addresses in the Manselton/Brynhyfryd areas over a 4 week cycle.  In January we were successful 



in receiving £3000 from the Coop Food Fund grant which is used to finance some of the fresh food that is distributed – we budget to spend £60 per week on fresh produce.   The rest of the food that is delivered is provided thanks to the links we have with Swansea Foodbank at Mumbles, HOP Foodbank in Sketty Park, Matt’s Cafe and Yogaya Café (donating 26 packed cold meals a week).  In total we estimate that over 100 people are receiving food support from UiD on a weekly basis.  David as Coordinator makes visits to Outreach at people who may need special support or whose status is Christmas changing. During the year we distributed Vitamin D tablets as a one off to 150 people, which were sent to us by the Hay, Brecon and Talgarth Sanctuary Group for Refugees. 

**2.** Clothing Bank: Set up a few months before our last AGM, the clothing bank has continued to operate during this last 12 months.  In October it moved to its permanent base in Uniting Church Sketty.  One team of volunteers/trustees meets on Monday afternoons to receive donations and another team of volunteers/trustees, meets on Thursday afternoons to put up and deliver the requests that have been Deliveries received in the previous week.  Most weeks, 3 volunteer ready to go drivers deliver to at last 3 addresses each. We often receive referrals from A Better Welcome to Swansea Project and more recently have received referrals from BAWSO. Any member of the UiD community can make their own requests to the Clothing Bank via Adella, the Clothing Bank Coordinator. 

**English Classes: online and face to face** . We met the initial demand for online English lessons at different levels which were taught mainly by Sam, Paddy and Neil.  Sam taught weekly beginners and intermediate lessons for some of the Spanish speaking community members.  The numbers of people attending gradually declined so the aim was to start classes at the church once more, when we could reopen. In April, we welcomed intern Heidi who initially started teaching the beginner’s class on zoom and is now teaching a very successful class face to face. 

**Women's Group:** It has been very difficult for Group Leader and Trustee Saba to meet the members of this group during the year.  Despite this she has arranged a couple of picnics for women and their families on the beach when restrictions allowed and in March a successful online event to celebrate International Women’s Week. 



**Digital Connection:** besides the year, in September our language tuition for 20 of our University.  An important means ‘What’s App’ group which what’s app group is used to share from other organisations who 


holding English classes on line during trustee Jill initiated individual English members with students from Swansea of communication for UiD is the UiD currently has 80 participants.  The news and information from UiD and support asylum seekers and refugees. 

**Interns:** In November, Trustee Jill succeeded in accessing a bid for UiD to have two Swansea University interns.  One to teach and organise beginner English language lessons. The other to work as a publicity and communication officer.  Each intern is available for 70 hours work in the 2020/2021 academic year. UiD receives funding from the University to pay them. Intern Simona has upgraded the UiD website and is posting on and encouraging members to use the Facebook page. 

**Social gatherings (Connect and Create Programme):** In June, we held a very successful Guided Walk: _Lets Walk and Talk Together_ 

_Lets Walk and Talk Together_ in in Swansea City Centre.  The Refugee Week was ‘We cannot Altogether 50 adults and 14 part.  People enjoyed meeting some cases for the first time and we were also able to arrivals to Swansea. The Walk 


Refugee Week, theme of walk alone’. children took each other, in since last year welcome new 

was planned and arranged by Viv and Simona and their inspirational work has given us a model for future events. 

**Garden Project on graveyard land to the Unitarian Church** (funded by the National Lottery’s 25[th] Birthday Fund) **:** This has been an exciting new project for UiD to create a garden where people can meet in lovely surroundings once the open sessions are taking place.  Work began in 

September when David, with Neil Barry a horticulturist from Swansea Growing Network organised three working parties to create a new garden and vegetable patch. Good progress was made thanks to volunteers:  Kristina (trustee), Igor and Douglas.  A raised bed was built, herbs planted in it and land 

The garden ‘Before’ 

cleared to plant up. A successfully bid to Keep Wales Tidy meant that in February, a fruit tree and fruit bush package were eventually planted.  The second part of the project was the buying of seeds and plants.  By June the garden was taking shape. The herb bed looked and still looks good. The apple trees and gooseberry bushes are bearing fruit, the onions are growing well and the wild flower bed has bloomed. The volunteers have been joined by 3 



enthusiastic members of the community.  Final stage is getting rid of all the rubble. The garden is being officially opened at the end of July with a celebration. 

**Hardship Fund** :  In January we established this fund and a Hardship sub-committee of the Trustees Meeting.  We are grateful for the benefit support our trustee Debbie is able to offer, as and when the situation arises. 

Our journey for this period of life for UiD has been busy and productive as trustees and volunteers alike have strived to maintain as good a level of support as possible to asylum seekers and trustees known to the charity.  As we move into our next year we plan to continue our outreach activity alongside our open sessions and to explore along with the leaders of the Unitarian church how we can make more use of the church accommodation. 

Adella Pritchard 

19.07.21 


Banner made by Shakeel & Janin 



Unlty in Diversity (Swansea 2015) Accounts 1st June 2020 to 31st May 2021
Opening Balance
6634.40
Income
15241.55
Expenditure
5916.30
Closing Balance.
15959.65
TS8 Account
16331.65
Cash
-372.01
Closlng Balance
IS959.65
Independent examlner's st*ement
In connectlon with my examination, no matter has come to my attention:
l. Which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material repect the requirementS.'
to keep accounting records In accordance wlth sectlon 130 of the 2011 Att
and
to prepre accounts which accord with the accounting records and wmply with the the
accounting requlrements of the 2011 Act
have not been met or
2. to whlch in my oplnlon. attention should be drawn in order to enable a propef
understanding of the accounts to be reached.
Signature
Date
F,C.C.A.
c.r.A.