Belonging - the gift of community

Well, we did it! Thanks to your support we raised £2500 for our two chosen charities, and had a ball along the way!

The marathon is over a month ago now, but it took a while to collate and distribute funds and then have the chance to visit the two projects. 

I've taken the photo above from the Larder>East website because it says it all really, doesn't it?

As we can see in the news, the awfulness in the world is so often driven by fear and scarcity, which leads people to differentiate between themselves and their group and 'the others'. This dehumanising has tragic consequences. 

I am often reminded about wise words from Fiona, a mindfulness teacher at Maitri Studio, who speaks about noticing when our communications and decisions are coming from a place of insufficiency inside us. When we're nervous about what we don't have, about what could be better, we tend to be more defensive and grasping. When we can take a step back and recognise what we do have, and practice gratitude for that, we soften both mentally and physically and become more generous and tolerant. 

Two of our relay team, Leanne and Zoe, visited the wonderful Anaka Women's Collective, who are a wonderfully supportive team working together to help women new to Belfast and Northern Ireland find their feet, learn the language and new skills, and access education, employment and housing. 

In their own words "We are a group of women who use our collective skills to educate, support, advocate and celebrate each other."

Leanne and Zoe were particularly impressed that the women attended and then progressed to being volunteers and leaders themselves. It's a thriving, lively and well-utilised group and we look forward to visiting their vegetable growing site at the Waterworks. 

I popped into the second charity, The Larder East, just off CS Lewis Square. They are all about bringing people together through food and food-related events, enabling equity of access to good quality produce, local gardening, community meals and more.

In their own words "We aspire to expand our food hub beyond economic segregation, providing a space where people from all walks of life can rub shoulders" and there is "always enough when we share". Whenever I go to buy refill produce (bring your own bags for dry goods), tins, fresh veg and delicious Bakari bread, there is always plenty going on. People stay for a cuppa and a chat, or a bite of lunch, and the camaraderie. And so the project tackles loneliness and isolation, as well as helping people find common ground with people they might not otherwise come across. 

These tenets of awareness, gratitude, generosity and friendship are key values for us at Maitri Studio, and evidently you, our community, support that. Let's keep doing our bit for each other and the planet. Even if it feels like it's a drop in the ocean, it's our ocean and any brightness you can add to someone else's day (and therefore your own) is surely worth it!