We work in coproduction with individuals and communities to campaign on issues of inequality and injustice.
We campaign in coproduction with people experiencing the issue we are tackling, as we know from experience that the closer you are to the issue, the closer you are to the solution.
Windrush Through the Senses
Windrush Day, celebrated on 22nd June, is an opportunity to commemorate, celebrate and learn about the history and legacy of the Windrush Generation.
This year, Changing Our Lives is working with children and young people with profound and multiple learning disabilities (PMLD) in two local schools. Between 8th June and 6th July, we are delivering a series of sensory storytelling workshops, culminating in a Windrush Day celebration on 22nd June.
Through music, objects, photographs, storytelling and creative activities, pupils will explore the experiences of the Windrush Generation and the lasting contribution that Caribbean communities have made to life in Britain. The workshops are designed to support accessible, incremental learning, enabling children and young people with PMLD to engage with this important history in meaningful ways.
Alongside the workshops, we are developing a range of accessible learning resources, including an Easy Read guide to Windrush history, photo books and sensory storytelling materials. These resources will help schools continue learning about Windrush beyond the project itself.
The project will also create sensory resource suitcases containing objects, photographs and learning materials that can be used in classrooms after the workshops have finished. By leaving a lasting collection of accessible resources in schools, we hope to support future learning about Windrush history, culture and community for years to come.
This project is funded through the Windrush Day Grant Scheme by the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG) and administered by Near Neighbours.
Chai, Mithai and Challenging Myths
Throughout our years working alongside disabled people from minority ethnic communities, a common problem that people have raised is a lack of shared language.
This film is funded by the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.
A lack of shared language can mean that diagnoses and terminology have no direct translation in a different language. Sometimes the challenge is bringing together a person’s deeply held religious beliefs with new knowledge about disability rights from the perspective of a disabled person in their family or community. For this reason, we have begun translating general definitions and information regarding learning disability and autism into Urdu and Punjabi.
Resources in Urdu:
- What is a learning disability? (سیکھنے کی معذوری کیا ہے؟)
- What is autism? (آٹزم [خُوش خَيالی] کیا ہے؟)
Resources in Punjabi:
In an increasingly polarised world, it is easy to see misunderstandings and cultural myths as fundamental differences that divide communities. Chai, Mithai and Challenging Myths aims to break down some of the barriers and open up conversations in a safe, respectful and welcoming space.
Using tools such as our Ordinary Life in Translation books, our project involves South Asian disabled people and family carers hosting conversations with the wider South Asian community about disability rights, over chai and mithai.
Beyond the Stigma
Beyond the Stigma is an ongoing stream of work that challenges and raises awareness around mental health taboos in the South Asian community.
The first phase of Beyond the Stigma took place in 2017, in an area of Walsall where 95% of residents are Muslim. We used poetry as a medium to facilitate discussions about mental health with 180 school-aged people. Our poetry workshops culminated in schools, families, faith leaders and the local community coming together for a poetry slam.
The second phase of Beyond the Stigma brought together 5 South Asian women from Sandwell.
Combining poetry with their personal narratives of experiencing and overcoming mental health difficulties, their work challenged the stigma around mental health in their respective communities and encouraged others to engage in the conversation.
