AYDA provides accredited training to boost employment opportunities, develop new skills, and self-esteem, and enhance career prospects. We are offering a range of training as follows
- BTEC/Diploma courses
- Health and Social Care
- Business and Administration
- Management
- ESOL
- Employability Skills
- Developing Awareness of Cultural Health Practices
- Responding to Practices of FGM in UK
- Understanding Female Genital Mutilation
- AYDA offers business consultancy to voluntary, small to medium-sized organizations.
The training is available to anyone that is interested to develop their skills and looking for employment opportunities and new career opportunities. You can book training by emailing or phoning us FGM- AYDA Community Support group strives to raise awareness of different cultural practices in the community to enhance mutual understanding. AYDA Support Group is open to everybody irrespective of their background.
AYDA Community Advocates Programme for FGM and DASV
Community Advocates – what are they?
‘Community Advocates’ – as the voices of communities affected by FGM speaking out against the practice – have been the driver of change in the FGM campaign. Ayda aims to enable women, men, young people, and religious leaders to actively engage in the campaign and become community advocates, providing them with the skills and confidence to publicly speak out within their communities and among their peers.
Why?
Community Advocates are often able to access informal spaces and social networks and make contact with hard-to-reach groups. They can engage their peers and quickly create trusting relationships. Community Advocates often have a multiplier effect, taking FGM messages back to their communities. Community Advocates also highlight that affected communities have the responsibility and power to create change within their communities. Finally, the process of becoming a community champion is an empowering journey.
AYDA Community Advocates Training
The training programme consists of four full-day sessions, The training will cover;
FGM and DASV;
safeguarding;
monitoring and evaluation;
communication;
campaigning and leadership;
project planning and development.
Comprehensive training is essential to ensure that community Advocates convey accurate information on FGM that adheres to known standards and that the work is of high quality. Community Advocates will be trained on safeguarding and be prepared to report when there is a child protection concern. Community Advocates should to be trained in how to deal with disclosures, how to manage emotions and trauma, and how to discuss the issue sensitively. Community Advocates need to be enabled to signpost, refer and support women to access specialist care not only on FGM/DASV, but on wider issues that may come up. Community Advocates should be trained and have the skills to facilitate conversations that encourage discussion and debate allowing participants to explore the issue of FGM. Clear and considered recruitment processes through interviews and application forms will ensure that community Advocates meet expectations and are able to deliver the work. It is important to recruit a diverse range of individuals who are bilingual, have experience of providing advice and support, have a strong commitment to safeguarding and have proven existing community links and networks. Expectations and standards will be clearly set out for community Advocates at the start of the training. These expectations will include monitoring and evaluation, role and responsibilities, practical guidance, and administrative duties.
- Learn English at many levels with courses for speakers of other languages, for free.
- Learn how to speak, listen, read and write in English to get a job, understand your doctor, help your children at school, and more.
- Learn English as a second language for work. Be confident in interviews and work with improved English Language skills.
For more information, please contact AYDA on 020 8688 6000 or email info@aydacentre.org
Needlecraft International Project: “We started the project to address intensive poverty”
Lucy Njomo, Project Lead at the Needlecraft International Project, spoke to People’s Health Trust Ahead of International Women’s Day 2022 to share more on why the new project is needed in the community.
“The Needlecraft International Project will launch in March 2022 and we initially started it as a way to address intensive poverty in the community. The project is run by the African Youth Development Association in Croydon. From our ongoing projects we have brought together women in the community who are mainly from African migrant backgrounds.
Many of the women who access these projects are refugees, are unemployed, or have recently lost income due to the pandemic. During the lockdown we moved our projects online and in discussions the community came up with the idea to start a sewing project so they could learn a new skill that would help with the financial difficulties.
We’ve had a surprising amount of interest in the project but this funding will support up to 15 women. The participants have designed the structure of what they will be learning and they have chosen a well-qualified seamstress from the community to deliver the sessions.
The project participants face challenges finding employment. These can be language barriers, a lack of skills or education, low self-esteem, and cultural differences. I’ve been working here for 15 years and have seen how much of an impact the group can have on helping people understand local systems, grow in confidence and become more integrated in society.
The Covid-19 pandemic has been a huge set back though as people were unable to meet up in person. This has led to an increased sense of hopelessness and depression. Things are not the same as they were, people are coming out of the pandemic and they don’t have a job, they have not been able to support their families financially or travel to bereavements, it makes it worse for them. That’s why we are bringing people together to start building up their friends and relationships again.
The sewing workshops will help people learn a new skill that they can use to find employment, become self-employed, or to support their friends and family. Some of the women don’t have money to go out or don’t have money to buy new clothes so being able to have this skill to make something from fabric for themselves or their children will be a significant saving. We will also have a business advisor to come and talk to participants who want to take this further so they can have a direct or indirect income.
This project will also promote integration and cohesion in the community. It is a local point of contact, a meeting place. People are happy there is something that will be happening regularly to be able to have a support network to access and women from different backgrounds and cultures will be able to make friends and there will be greater community cohesion in the area they live.”
AYDA works in partnerships with Ground Works London providing WAVES clients Employment skills/mock interviews based training along with other courses AYDA provides to our clients Our clients will also sign a declaration for the responsibility of any lPads loaned to them via AYDA.
Groundwork London, 18-21 Morley Street, London, SE1 7QZ
Charity Registration 1121105 ｜ Company Registration 04212532
Visit www.groundwork.org.uk/london
