TALKING ISSUES We are told there are to be deep cuts to our public services. For those of us who have been urging a very much smaller role for the state for many years on philosophical, moral, emotional and spiritual grounds (see newsletters 27, February 2003 and 37, March 2008, for instance), it is very sad that the debate has only been forced out into the open because the nation’s finances have been ruined by private greed and easily avoidable, public profligacy. It means that politicians and commentators are taking positions that polarise the discussion at the very outset and that decisions about the size of the state are being forced upon a population that has not had time to think about the real issues and that is fearful, quite reasonably, of the lasting effects upon their own pockets. This is hardly a good time for all the talk about Big Society.
Yet perhaps there is still time to propose that the debate sets off from a different starting point. It might be framed thus: why is it thought to be appropriate for a distant, centralised and thus (by definition) inefficient and impersonal state to govern or to be responsible for so much of our daily lives? This is a new phenomenon in this country, dating back no more than 100 years. As we look around at our desolate, urban estates and at our degraded rural communities, should we not at least ponder whether we took the right road back there? At Besoms across the land, we meet with social workers every day who tell us that, even before the effects of the coming cuts ripple outwards (and they will perforce affect the poor the most), there is already neither the time nor the resources available to stem the tide of domestic abuse and violence. Still less to assist the ever-larger underclass towards a more worthwhile and meaningful existence. AJP Taylor wrote in ‘English History 1914-1945’, ‘Until August 1914, a sensible, law-abiding Englishman could pass through life and hardly notice the existence of the state, beyond the post office and the policeman.’ To put that in context, about 7m people now work in or for the public services (out of about 30m who are in paid work in the UK altogether); a further 6m or thereabouts depend on welfare payments from the government and another 12.5m people are drawing state pensions. At the turn of the 20th century, general government expenditure represented less than 15% of gross domestic product; it is estimated that this will peak well above 50% in 2011. How did this happen and was it planned and did we the people give our informed consent to these plans? I believe not. There are several other ingredients to include in the cocktail, all imposed, sponsored or allowed by central government. First, there is the consequence of over 20 years of multicultural apartheid (see newsletter 28, September 2003). We have never been
– ‘Truth, Sir, is a cow that will yield such people no more milk and so they are gone to milk the bull’ (Boswell’s Life of Johnson, 1763)
allowed to have an open discussion about this, so clear have our leaders been that they know better than we do what is best for us and so worried they are lest we see that this particular policy has torn, was bound to tear, a gaping hole in the fabric of our society. It was indeed the last government’s immigration policy to ‘change the character of the nation’. Who gave them that right? The idea that we can exist as a rich patchwork quilt of separate communities from different cultures has no more worked than did the bantustans in South Africa.
Secondly, the removal by a centralising government of personal, community and local responsibility from many areas of our lives has led to an apathy that is not to be found on this scale in any other European, or indeed developing, nation that I know. In its original sense, apathy means an absence of passion, an indifference towards things that lie outside one's control. There is a hopelessness about it, a recognition of powerlessness, that again is all too recognisable to Besoms as we go onto the local estates. It loiters on every corner, empty and menacing, yet desperate to show that it has some form of meaning, some significance. Then thirdly, there is the public spiritual vacuum, encouraged by central government in the name, I imagine, of inclusiveness (and for which the Church must bear a large degree of responsibility). I know of no other country that has turned its back on its spiritual heritage so swiftly and so comprehensively as we have in the last couple of decades. At a time when faith generally has burgeoned across the globe, at a time in particular when a real Christ followership is spreading across most continents more rapidly than at any time in history, we have become a secular backwater. We are caught up in encouraging interfaith dialogue between faith groups whose gods could not be more different one from another – Allah, for instance, to his adherents, is the source of all evil as well as all good; one of his names is the deceiver; he is inscrutable and distant; he judges one’s entry to an afterlife by balancing our good deeds on earth against our bad deeds. There is no common reference point to the Christian God even if there may be some superficial common values. And the culture that rises up around a Moslem world-view (and I respect their right to worship as they choose, of course) will perforce be radically different to that which comes from the worship of a God whose very nature is love and who loves each of us equally and passionately. Each faith has its own path but the paths do not meet.
cosmopolitan England that shows all the evidence of being one of the least benign faiths that has ever existed. It brooks of no opposition nor allows for other views. It has arisen because of the unfounded claims of some of today’s scientists that they have come up with answers that reveal that faith (by which they mean every one else’s faith but their own!) has been found out to be a mere product of the evolutionary process. As my children would exclaim: whatever! If the theory of evolution has something helpful to add to our understanding of the origin of humankind, it can, by definition, have nothing to say about our destiny or about the existence of God. It is as if reason is now thought to be the exclusive preserve of the atheist and faith is merely a subjective belief system rather than a source of revealed knowledge and a place of ultimate understanding of reality. The worldview of the atheist, described as criminal by Edmund Burke (he of the oft-cited ‘little platoons’ that stand at the heart of any sensible approach to government), is one that allows for no purpose in life, no hope, no free will, no objective basis for compassion, moral sensibility or ethics – it suggests an allpervasive nihilism that is increasingly at the root of all of our problems in the UK. It proposes nothing less than the divinity of Man. And he has singularly failed to show that he can be trusted with power in every generation so far.
When, 1000 years ago, the Icelandic assembly of chieftains recognised that there would soon be fighting between the ‘pagan’ and the Christian traditions, they asked the Law speaker, one Thorgeir Thorkelsson, to mediate. He agreed to do so provided that all agreed in advance to abide by his decision – a compromise, therefore, of the old sort, where a third party decided who would prevail between two parties in conflict, rather than the very British sort of compromise by which both sides move away from their starting positions to reach some fuzzy arrangement in the middle, satisfactory to neither, even where one is right and the other wrong. Although a pagan priest himself, the Law speaker came back after two days and declared that the island should thenceforth be Christian and that the pagans should be allowed to worship freely but in private. The model of Jesus Christ, what he said and what he did, has not been bettered and he is revered and respected by all creeds except for that of some of the new atheists (who seem to know almost nothing about him). Might we not take after Thorkelsson and agree that, before any more talk of the Big Society (which cannot possibly work if there is no clear moral consensus), we agree to live our public lives in this That would perhaps be tolerable but for country as if we all were followers of the fact that the public vacuum has been Jesus? filled by a militant faith that has overtaken the body politic and its acolytes in the media. There is an arrogant (and James Odgers, extraordinarily ignorant) secularism in Founder of The Besom
CONTACTING THE BESOM
If you would like to discuss giving things, skills or time please log on to www.besom.com and click on ‘Local Besoms’ to find the nearest Besom to you. Alternatively you can call The Besom HQ on 020 7223 6522 who will be able to point you in the right direction.
For all other
enquiries please call: 020 7223 6522 // fax: 020 7223
0119 // email: info@besom.com or visit www.besom.com The Besom is a Christian charity.
This newsletter has been printed with funds given especially for that purpose
Registered charity no. 1104026 Editor: Noomi Landin
If you would like to discuss giving money please call: 020 7223 0119
A big thank you to all who have given money, time, skills or things
UPDATE
Since the last newsletter in November 2009, those giving through The Besom have provided funds for the purchase of…
3 sewing machines for women’s training centre, Bethlehem Pump for agricultural training centre, Zimbabwe 6 cisterns for villages, Mexico Medical equipment for maternity clinic at a leprosy hospital, Nepal 2 motorbikes plus protective clothing for community support work, Madagascar Fencing for 15 food gardens at agricultural training centre, South Africa Cabinets for bedrooms and bathrooms at centre for addicts, Israel Sofas and chairs for hospitality space at centre for women escaping prostitution, E London Toys and storage equipment for toy library and drop-in centre, Haringey, London Vehicle for community/HIV care, South Africa Beds and kitchen equipment for hostel, E London Beds and mattresses for homeless youth project, Surrey Sewing machines for women’s incomegenerating project, Pakistan A desktop and a laptop computer for women supported in higher and further education, Colombia Building materials for a classroom at a special needs school, Zambia Hydro-pool, beds, tumble-drier, stove, microwave and washing machine, HIV palliative care home, South Africa Two neo-natal resuscitators for maternity clinic, Malawi Audiology equipment for detecting hearing problems at a special-needs school, South Africa Materials for the construction of a play therapy room and office at a children’s care home, South Africa Materials for the refurbishment of a health clinic in a Delhi slum, India Equipment to refurbish community café, SW London Solar panels, 20 sewing machines, 2 embroidery machines, tables, chairs and cupboard for textiles and sewing training centre, Mali Kitchen table and benches for refurbished kitchen at refugee shelter, Israel 4 sewing machines and 3 over-locking machines at income generating and training project, South Africa Dining room furniture for feeding programme, South Africa Furniture for homeless hostel, East Belfast Materials for the refurbishment of a health clinic in Calcutta, India Commercial washing machine for rehab hostel, Devon 8 locally-made wheelchairs, Uganda Commercial baking equipment for providing food and income at children’s project, Paraguay Toilet, handrails and basin for disabled toilet facility at elderly respite care home, SW London Football kits, match balls, training bibs and balls for community youth football team, SW London Building materials for medical centre for children escaping persecution, Nigeria 3 wells for 3 villages, Zambia 4 sewing, 1 embroidery, and 1 over-locking machine and laying table at income generating and training centre, Kenya 4 sofas and curtains for 4 rooms at homeless single mothers hostel, C and W London 3 community taps for remote villages, Mozambique Furniture for a day centre room for disabled children, Romania Table tennis table, climbing and safety equipment, S London 51 benches for primary school, Uganda
The Besom helps people make a difference. It provides a bridge between those who want to give money, time, skills or things, and those who are in need. It ensures that what is given is used effectively. The service it provides is free. Issue No. 41
"No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted"
THE BESOM
Small Change
~ Aesop (620BC - 560BC)
From an unassuming chrysalis springs abundant life…
Zambia has a history of being one of the continent's richest countries at their independence in 1964, but is today regarded as one of the world's poorest. Due to economic decline, more than half of the population lives on less than $1.25 a day and like many other African countries, diseases such as malaria and HIV/AIDS are major problems. Many of the poorest households can be found in the rural areas of Zambia and due to poverty and lack of health care, life expectancy is just over 45 years.
Some children gathered in the village
After a visit to Mukuni Village in 2006, Jane Kaye-Bailey and her late husband founded The Butterfly Tree as a response to the deprived situation that they saw. Due to HIV/AIDS there is a high percentage of orphans in communities such as Mukuni (out of 1000 school-children, 450 are orphans) and providing help for these many children is part of the aim of The Butterfly Tree. In the 4 years they have existed they have started an orphan sponsorship programme, a number of HIV/AIDS programmes, malaria education and feeding programmes alongside building a maternity clinic and providing funds and treatment for sick children in the area. They are also assisting the communities with safe water supplies and funds for schools.
“ The Butterfly Tree believes that every child has a right to education. “ – Jane Kaye-Bailey, co-founder of The Butterfly Tree
Recently, the Zambian Department of Education were able to provide a special needs teacher for Mukuni Basic School (the first rural ‘high school’ in the Kasungula District), where The Butterfly Tree has supported several projects. Now they are aiming to introduce facilities for children with special needs by providing a classroom, materials, equipment and uniforms so that these children Siababejene has learning difficulties and is on The Butterfly Tree orphan sponsorship programme do not feel any different to the pupils in the other schools. Mukuni Basic School provides education to children from a number of neighbouring villages so they will also benefit from these additional services. At the moment there are forty-four children, with varying difficulties, who have been sought-out and would benefit from being taught in the new classroom. (Several of these children are already part of The Butterfly Tree orphan sponsorship programme.) Money given through The Besom, has purchased building materials for the special needs classroom at Mukuni Basic School. This will help to show the children the care and attention they deserve and give them hope for a better future. It will also be a great help and support for the communities connected to the school as many locals have volunteered to participate by offering their skills.
Random Acts of Kindness – A Day in the Life of a Van Driver
It is 10am and 2 others and I have gathered by a large van ready for a day with The Guildford Besom. After setting off, we drive to a nearby town and soon arrive at an estate. Here lives Liz, a 6-months pregnant lady, who was referred to The Besom by a Drugs Support Officer from the local council for help with her garden. We spend some time talking to her and after she has shown us what she would like to be done, we get going with strimming, cutting and mowing.
unnecessary pain and yet she seems positive and hopeful about the future. A meeting like this one with Liz raises questions about ourselves, our lives and even our attitudes.
In the afternoon, more people join us for sorting bags and boxes of given items such as clothing, bedding, crockery, cutlery and other kitchen items. We examine each thing and if they pass the quality criteria, we prepare and pack them, ready to be delivered to a Homeless Drop-In Centre. Amongst “I was the one who helped everybody else, but now I need some help and there has been the things we load the van with is a crimson 3-piece suite. no-one to help me. All they do is complain about my long grass” – Liz, gardening The suite is for Beth, a single mother with 4 children under the age of 10. project recipient She is delighted to receive the suite as her lounge is completely empty and As the morning progress, Liz shares her story with us and it is a shock to they have all been sitting on the floor for the last three weeks. We came in hear that her pregnancy has resulted from a rape. What bravery she has to contact with the family a few weeks earlier, when they were still living in a tell us that, I don’t know, but she seems remarkably cheerful in the B&B and had just been given a 3 bedroom house to move into. They had circumstances and appears to be looking forward to the arrival of the little been given one week’s notice and had no means to get any furniture apart one. We spend several hours working in the garden and Liz seems to be from the wardrobe and some kitchen items that came with the house. It is very pleased with the job that we are doing. As we finish she tells us that heartbreaking to see people with such dire living conditions and especially she feels more confident to keep her garden in check and expresses her when it involves children. Amazingly, at The Besom, we had been given 5 gratitude. It has been amazing to have the opportunity to help a young beds at different times, the last two just days before. We very rarely get lady with her garden and I must say that at the end of it, it felt like a very given so many beds at once and it meant that we could pass them on to small deed to do for someone who has gone through such a rough time. Beth and her children on the day that they moved into the house.
It was a joy to see the look on their faces when we came to deliver. They were all so grateful for everything that we were able to give to them. As we brought the furniture, Beth gave us some more insight into their situation. She had “married for love” and as a result of her family’s disapproval, they disowned her. She and her husband went to build a new life in Europe. After 10 years of marriage, her husband divorced her and out of fear of his family she took her 4 children and fled to England, leaving everything behind. She went to visit her family, who did not want to have anything to do with her and closed the door in her face. They were now all on their own and through support they eventually were offered a house to live in and at the same time referred to The Besom. With no-one else to turn to, through Besom she had had her home completely furnished and at Christmas time, we were able to give the family several Christmas hampers and a bike as a Christmas present for her son. In describing the kindness that had been shown to her, Beth said that “Christians are the only people that have helped me”, and tears welled up in her eyes as she mentioned the hampers. We were delighted to hear later that she has begun to be reconciled with her family and that a lady from a local Church is helping her on a regular basis. At 5pm, the van returns to base and another day in the life of the Guildford Besom has come to an end. As Ian described his first day on the Besom van, “It has been a day of random acts of kindness.”
We later return to Guildford for the usual full English breakfast with the Simon, Guildford Besom team, de-briefing and reflecting on our time with Liz. Of course it is hard not to be affected when you meet a person who has gone through such
Steadily, The Ripples Spread….
All names have been changed to protect identities
It’s great to see the focus shifting away from a centralised HQ with more and more Besoms taking hold of their region of the network’s activities. For the first time there are plans afoot for a conference in Surrey and the surrounding region and we are seeing, and encouraging, others who want to do similar regional gatherings. The March conference, held here at the warehouse for the first time, had a more ‘homely’ feel and had many local Besoms taking centre stage. It was a pleasure to welcome delegates from Stichting Present who came over to the conference to represent the 40+ centres dotted around The Netherlands that were set up a few years ago after learning about and adapting the Besom model to that country.
We continue to get excited at the prospect of Besoms springing up adjacent to existing ones, which seems to be on the cards in some areas, and generally seeing Besoms support each other as they go along. It was wonderful to be a part of welcoming a new Besom into the fold in May this year as The Besom in Wirral was launched. The team there have been champing at the bit for some time and so it has been a pleasure to witness the outcome of their patience and perseverance. In their first few weeks (if not days) they had offers of givers, referrals, provision for a van and two yes TWO - warehouse spaces! (Needless to say, they are now pondering what they did with their time before Besom came along!)
On the whole, we are encountering exciting times. The network is changing to be filled with enthusiastic and focused pods of people who love and live The Besom. So much so that this atmosphere is attracting others to join, which has been the hope we have had for some time. The next stage is to welcome those who, having heard and seen, take the brave step of daring to start a Besom in their area after being on the sidelines. Some others have walked past Besom, and are now turning their heads back. All who take that step will, of course, be welcomed into the network with open arms. - Claire, Besom HQ in London
Who’s Different Now?
When we first contacted The Besom, we wanted help to find a person that could benefit from our time and skills that we, as a group, possessed. They introduced us to Kelly and her daughter, Ella who had fled domestic violence and was living in a shabby house, in need of a lot of work and with only a few belongings in it. When we first met them, Kelly was very withdrawn and nervous. She had difficulties making eye contact and seemed to want to shy away from and everything everyone and from what we learnt from her situation, I guess it wasn’t very surprising. Most of the rooms in the house had flaky walls with marks and stains on them and the ceiling had things stuck to it with holes in various places. The floor in the main room, which also was the dining area, had graffiti-looking marks and scribbles all over it. It would take quite a bit to transform this house into a more liveable place, but we were up to the task! We started with the main room and over a period of a few months we kept going back, redecorating yet another room and the place started to brighten up. During this time, The Besom was able to provide Kelly and Ella with furniture and other items that they lacked, all in very good condition and we all watched the house slowly turn
into a home. She was also able to get carpets fitted and some plastering done by the local council and social services, which added to the homely look.
It was not just the home that brightened up, Kelly also did. She slowly grew in confidence as we made friends with her and we tried our best to encourage her in both small and big. As time went on, she moved from being closed up and standoffish, to walking a bit taller and more confidently. Her face was bit by bit transformed as the black rings around her eyes faded and she seemed to have found more reasons to smile. As someone described: ‘she was like a rose, closed up and in need of water and over time she began opening up and fully blossoming’. In a way, she opened her home (though rather reluctantly) to a bunch of strangers, but she also opened up her heart to us. Although we did most of the physical work, we found ourselves being transformed as well, on a deeper level. The way that our paths crossed and what that meant for both our group and Kelly and Ella is something we will not soon forget. It indeed showed that when we take steps towards helping someone, it will not only change their life but ours as well.
All names have been changed to protect identities
Our current Besoms.... Ashtead & Leatherhead, Ballynahinch, Barnet, Basingstoke, Bristol, Camberley, Cambridge, Dorking, Ealing, East Belfast, Greenwich, Guildford, London(HQ), Manchester, Milton Keynes, Norwich, Oxford, Portsmouth, Purbeck, Runnymede, Ryedale, Sheffield, South Norfolk, St. Austell, Taunton, Thurrock, Wirral, Witney, Woking, York.
Small Seeds of Hope
First Fruit is a close-knit group of social enterprises and charities working together in the East End of London. The aim is to help young people who have been homeless or unemployed to gain momentum in their lives and make the most out of their potential, becoming active members of society. Many of those that come in contact with First Fruit have a history of homelessness, unemployment and addictions. Over the years, money given through The Besom has gone to a whole range of projects with First Fruit, including refurbishing a kitchen for a care centre, a boiler and heating system for a hostel and printing equipment for a job creation programme.
Just Homes and First Fruit Trading (FFT) are two of the projects that go under the banner of First Fruit. Their mission is to encourage those that they work with to look at their future with a positive and hopeful attitude and help them to break the cycle of ‘no job, no home’. The nature of support is catered towards the individual’s needs and aspirations and to help ease the transition to a settled life, clients are given time to settle in the job before making the move into permanent accommodation. FFT works to empower their clients with skills to gain and hold down a job, again enabling them to maintain more permanent accommodation. During their time with FFT, the clients are given support and training. When they leave, in addition to the transferable skills they have gained, they also go with
work experience and a job reference that are critical to gaining further employment.
Since the last newsletter, money given through The Besom has been used to purchase a ‘button hole machine’ and a ‘feed of the arm machine’ for FFT. These two sewing machines are essential for the work at FFT and will help the clients to be able to access highly skilled jobs in manufacturing, giving them a hope and a future. Money has also gone towards the purchase of beds, plates, cutlery, toasters and other utensils for one of the Just Homes hostels in Canning Town. Many of the residents there have become homeless after losing jobs in the recession. These items have helped to create a safe, stable atmosphere, helping the residents to be supported back into employment and permanent accommodation. Each item gives a message that someone cares and is willing to help when life seems hopeless.