Achievements
SIDA has a quality track record showing its development as an excellent service provider to the Somali community over the past 26 years – one great achievement is in our longevity, we are one of the most well established Somali agencies in London, having been developed in the 1990’s.
Every year we directly support more than 1,000 Somalis through our range of services and programmes which has been developed to meet the needs of all age groups and both genders through specific project works designed in response to needs identified in the community.
We are supported by the London Borough of Southwark as the key provider of services to the Somali community which provides foundation funding of £60k each year.
Who we help
SIDA is well suited for delivering project work and programmes which serve the true needs and interests of the Somali community (and the broader societies we are integrating with). We have:
1) A user led ethos in that the Board, staff and volunteers are Somali and of both genders which means we are appropriate in terms of language, culture, experiences and gender which is crucial when working with the Somali community
2) Connections with different organisations within the voluntary and statutory sectors, particularly leading on programmes / activities to promote the development of Somalis
3) Ensuring all local Somali networks are meeting regularly with other groups to discuss their programmes, community needs, who delivers which services and how we can provide an aligned community response – this leads to development of our programmes in the borough.
4) Become a lead member of local forums [e.g. Somali Advisory Forum, Southwark Advice Forum and Southwark Advice Network], collaborating with other Somali agencies [e.g. Somali Bravanese Community and Ocean Somali Community Association – OSCA] and also collaborating with other non-Somali agencies [e.g. The Minaret Community Centre and the Twist Partnership with which we developed a Business Nurseries Programme]
5) Delivered many programmes over the past 26 years to Somalis of all ages and both genders which have included ESOL, Citizenship and Employment, Family Support Services, Study Support / Homework Club, Training and Employment programmes and Child Protection Training & Awareness
6) Become the preferred provider of LB Southwark which encouraged us to subsume 2 Somali community organisations – Aylesbury Somali Women’s Health Project and Southwark Somali Women’s Group to ensure capacity and ability to deliver
7) Delivered services relevant to the Local Area Agreement for delivering the Community strategy titled “Southwark Community Strategy – Southwark 2016” – we meet all 3 inter-related objectives and participated in its production as the lead Somali agency in Southwark
8) A solid financial base with turnover exceeding £100k for the past 2 years having risen from £60k over the past 5 years – we have more than 20 years financial management experience.