LYT Newsletter January 2023
Hello LYT Team - Happy 2023!
We have so much to tell you, it's already kicking off to be another very busy year! Shall we dive straight in?
MEET OUR NEW PARTNER - CRIBS INTERNATIONAL (GREECE)
CRIBS' mission is to empower women who are heavily pregnant or have a new-born baby and have fled conflict or exploitation. By providing shelter, safety and support they get them off the streets of Athens and give them the chance to begin to recover from trauma, rebuild their lives and regain their independence.
The women they support are often travelling alone, and have fled from various regions including the DRC, Cameroon, Afghanistan, Syria, Sierra Leone, Ghana, and Ivory Coast. Many are survivors of exploitation, including sexual exploitation, rape and labour exploitation. Having fled violence in their home countries, they have endured long and traumatic journeys and on reaching Europe they find themselves homeless on the streets of Athens. With little or no support from the Greek authorities they are in desperate situations and are at risk of further exploitation.
Now that the Greek government funded housing programme has closed, along with urban camps, the only option they may be given by the authorities is to move to a rural closed camp. These camps are far away from support structures and offer no chance of a normal life. There is little or no access to vital healthcare, psychological support or education, and camps are recognised by the UNHCR to be highly dangerous for women and children.
CRIBS was created to prevent babies of refugee mothers from spending the first months of their lives on the streets, in the Greek 'care' system, in parks, on the ground in tents, squats or churches. They house up to 15 families at one time, and their case managers support the new moms to navigate the healthcare system, and provide advocacy around birth to ensure women have choice and dignity. They also provide perinatal support, give advice and support with breastfeeding, assist with the complex asylum system, and with accessing psychological support, education opportunities and employment.
They're a UK registered charity, based in Greece, and we are so thrilled to have heard about them directly from an MJ fan. We can't wait to see how we can work together, and you can find out more about them here on our website.
OUR LATEST DONATIONS: £32,500 GIVEN AWAY
To recap for any new supporters, we support one major project in a 6 month period, as well as give away smaller CDDs (Community Development Donations) when our funding allows.
We're so happy to share that at the beginning of January, we were able to donate £30,000 to Open Way! This is our largest single donation given yet, and we are so pleased to be able to support such an incredible project with it.
Open Way will be able to use this funding for emergency food provision, housing and creating new homes, developing income generation and skill development in the community, and more. Your donations will go on to help literally hundreds of people in rural Ethiopia in extremely dire situations. We so look forward to hearing from our friends at Open Way in the future and seeing how their lifesaving work continues, and we're so proud to have played even a small part in their continued development.
THE MILKWOOD PROJECT
Additionally, we're so pleased to say we were able to give a CDD of £2,500 to new friend and partner, The Milkwood Project.
Yet another project brought to our attention by a longtime MJ fan, we're so excited for you to meet them. The Milkwood Project is a non-profit CIC (Community Interest Company) based in a rural Pembrokeshire woodland. A new creation borne out of Covid's isolation, they offer to teach and promote green wood working to all including those with limited mobility, small groups and individuals. Their principal focus is providing access to vulnerable adults to outdoor woodland activities and therapeutic woodland workshops to enhance mental health and physical wellbeing. In their first year they have run the following, among others:
A 6 week project for men experiencing isolation and loneliness to learn about woodcraft, cooking on a fire, and building furniture from loose wood. The outcome was enhanced skills, reduced anxiety and healthier participants.
A weekly whittling club of 10+ people, making friends and developing empathy.
A series of 6 woodland activities for men who are unpaid carers learning to make spoons, furniture from spare wood, and making tracks in the woodland.
Milkwood always use materials sourced locally within 2 miles, as well as locally recycled materials. Find out more about this brilliant project here, on our website.
Finally, a wonderful new song by Martyn, "Albert's Place"
Some of you may have caught Martyn on BBC TV and radio this week - it's been a whirlwind start to the year! Martyn is one of 5 artists involved in a brand new flagship project from BBC Radio 2 called “21st Century Folk”, inspired by the original BBC Radio Ballads. The project features 5 real listeners from the North East of England, who have had 5 brand new songs written about their remarkable lives and experiences by 5 different artists. This project is a modern take on the historic BBC Radio Ballads, a series of documentaries made in the 1950s and 1960s for the BBC Home Service that weaved the real voices of working communities with traditional folk songs
Martyn was tasked with writing a song about Andrea Bell, who runs a soup kitchen and food bank called the Sunderland Community Soup Kitchen. It's a beautiful song, and has garnered a lot of national recognition this week - we're all very proud of Martyn at Team LYT!
You can hear a full version of the song here on BBC’s YouTube channel.
There's also a 25 minute BBC Sounds programme showcasing the new song & telling Andrea and Martyn's story here (link may only work for UK residents)
As you can see, we're off with a bang! Martyn is currently on tour in the UK with shows in major cities all over the UK in the next few weeks, so please do come out and see us (and hear "Albert's Place" live!) We can't wait to see what the rest of the year brings.
As ever, in gratitude,
Justine, Martyn & the entire LYT Team