Heart of The Community attended the Annual event Ferham Festival 2022 on 11th August this month. The festival always draws in a big diverse crowd from the residents and this year was no exception. A welcomed change was this year the festival was also supporting South Asian culture as to support the south Asian heritage month.
The Roadshow kicked off by setting up the stall ready for engaging with the community on a beautiful sunny day. The day started off slow but 30 minutes in and the festival was in full swing. It was an amazing day filled with cultural activities, colour, and good food.
The Ferham Festival Roadshow managed to capture 215 little acts of kindness which would help an estimated 265 recipients within the community. The festival was 4 hours (240 minutes) that’s nearly 1 little act of kindness per minute.
There were many acts of kindness pledge from parents and children from diverse culture and backgrounds. There were language barriers but family members supported in translating to those who couldn’t speak or write in English.
Below are just some of the examples we wanted to showcase.
A brother and sister-in-law had spoken to us about how they have supported each other through immensely difficult periods of their lives over the last few years and how they continue to support each other.
”I helped my brother through a difficult period with his mental health” & “I’ve supported my sister with her physical health”.
We had also met a volunteer who had been a long serving volunteer of the CIC Grimm & Co who promote educational activities engaging children with literacy skills.
“volunteering for Grimm & Co for over 11 years”.
Below are just some more examples of what we discovered after engaging with residents in conversations about kindness towards others.
“I helped a homeless man with food today”.
“Be kind and help to pay the bill and help raise money”.
“my friend used to be upset so I played with them so she didn’t feel down”.
“Ongoing volunteer with mission partnership”.
“I volunteered at community kitchen at St Pauls & delivered food parcels.”
“I helped my mum with the cleaning”
“I helped at school”
“I fixed my brothers toy car”
The attendance of the event was fantastic, and our roadshow had some great conversations with a range of residents and cultures. It’s fantastic that families from the area have engaged with the project. The area has developed a bad reputation but after speaking with residents the area has a lot of good, kind-hearted people supporting each other every day. Overall, the roadshow was an amazing experience of culture, learning sunshine and highlighted lots of positive social actions happening everyday within Ferham.
