Feed the Minds is one of the social justice organisations based at our Ethical Property centre, The Foundry, in Vauxhall. We sat down with their communications manager, to ask them a few questions about themselves and the building…
What work does your organisation do?
We are an international development organisation, working mostly in adult education and literacy projects. Our work focuses on countries in Africa and Asia. Our focus areas are health education, citizenship, and economic empowerment.
We have projects supporting specifically women and girls, supporting adult women to find economic empowerment and independence. We also work to improve access to health education for women.
A snapshot of our impact last year, is that we carried out 11 different projects in 10 counties, some of which were implemented through our local partnership organisation in Africa. In the aftermath of the pandemic, 5525 people have improved their literacy skills, and 7367 project participants have been helped with different kinds of support. In terms of indirect impact of the work we do, 50,870 people have been reached by our work in the last year.
Last year worked in 10 counties, including Pakistan, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, and Uganda.
How did you come to work at The Foundry, and how was the experience of moving in?
We were attracted to work at The Foundry due to the ethical principles of Ethical Property and the location of The Foundry; it is very accessible and not difficult to find. The process of moving in was straight forward, and the support from the facilities team was good.
What do you like about working at the Foundry?
The Foundry is a very lively place, and the people who come to visit us are often impressed by it. Because of all the different organisations there, and the shared spaces, it often feels like we are part of one big organisation!
The spaces here are very helpful. There are many different rooms created for all different sizes of meetings, so we can always find what we need. The open space on the ground floor is also very nice.
The reception team is always very helpful.
What do you enjoy about The Foundry’s programme of events?
I have been to the gardening club which was very interesting. The first year I took a whole bag of potatoes home, and they were really tasty! My children were excited, we don’t often get the opportunity to eat home grown vegetables living in the city.
The gardener here gave us helpful information about how to eat home grown produce too.
I’ve also enjoyed looking at the art exhibitions on the ground floor. There is a lot of information about the different events going on, which is very engaging.
As an organisation we have also enjoyed the short presentations that run, related to running a social business or not-for-profit organisation. For example there was a course about social media which I attended with some other staff members, and we found it quite useful.
We are holding a conference in March, and we know to send out information via The Foundry newsletter which will reach a big audience.
Have you collaborated with anyone else during your time at The Foundry?
I have met some people from other organisations during my time here, but I think it’s something we could explore more. Seeing as we all work in similar areas, we could certainly learn from each other.
Read more about Feed the Minds here: Welcome to Feed the Minds
And The Foundry here: The Foundry (aplaceforchange.co.uk)