Bringing different faiths together

I became a member of SMFF in 2006. l enjoy their events particularly the training and open forum meetings. SMFF has done alot of work in trying to bridge the gap between faith groups and the Council. With the information gained from the forum l now have confidence in the working of the Council and have a greater understanding of how to voice my concerns and influence decisions. I now know about my rights and am not afraid to express my opinions

My organisation is of the Christian faith-a Church. We work with all ages of people, with a focus on families. As a result, we have 2-3 generations of families in our congregation, from grandparents to grand-children.

I have had the opportunity of participating in trainings, e.g. How to write successful funding applications, Project Management, How to complain successfully, and events like Peace breakfasts, AGMs etc.

My organisation has benefited from these activities in the sense that we were able to get some Funding to deliver a Youth Project and Capacity Building. As an organisation, we are now able to manage our projects better and also take complaints seriously.

Personally, I have always had respect for all people because I believe we are all made in the image of God. But never had an opportunity to have a dialogue with people of other faiths. I am able to do so now because of the great work the Multi-Faith Forum is doing in Southwark.

SMFF has made me aware of the different faith groups that are in operation. Through dialogue we can be able to tolerate each other and go beyond a person’s faith. There are still so many faith groups in Southwark that are not engaging. I challenge them to come together and be part of our dialogue.

We appreciate this kind of training and expect this will be continued as we can now fill in the application by ourselves (Participant, How to write a funding application)

My confidence in applying and conceiving projects has increased and I can go ahead and send an application (Participant, How to write a funding application)

It was a really good evening , I enjoyed the singing and the Turkish dancers (Participant Faith Area Network)

The event was very good and it was touching to have teenage parents tell their story

We are a charity organisation, offering counselling services, After School Service, Youth and OAP support and a place of worship among other projects.

SMFF offers our organisation support, advice on training and services available in Southwark. I have attended various training and meetings i.e. Planning Workshop, Health & Safety, Child Protection, Applying for funding and meeting councillors and stakeholders in Southwark. All the above has helped us to identify areas within our organisation which required improvements i.e., Fire Safety and reasons why the council need to plan what services/facilities are required in the borough, and has directed our organisation to were possible support and assistance are available.