Welcome to Karibu Community Action Kent
Welcome
“Karibu” – meaning welcome, is a Swahili word. Welcome is usually the greeting a visitor hears in many parts of Africa.
Karibu Community Action Kent (KCAK) was founded in 2015 by African individuals living in Kent to give a voice to Africans and people of African origin, promote cultural diversity, share and celebrate culture and heritage, support each other to solve problems by creating opportunities to meet, discuss issues of interest and to socialise.
We promote health and wellbeing and work to reduce inequalities in health and social care provision through information dissemination and facilitating access to the community for main stream service providers.
KCAK is run by a committee of members from different African and Black communities and we want it to reflect and be as representative as possible of the communities we serve. We focus on making the maximum positive effort for our community. Our members and volunteers provide the momentum that helps us affect change.
Karibu Kent’s unique selling proposition is that our management committee members are all of African and Caribbean origin with lived experience and an in-depth understanding of the issues black people face and can therefore offer culturally appropriate expertise and advice.
The organisation is governed by 6 Management committee members from different
countries namely: Zimbabwe, Kenya, Uganda, Sierra Leone, and Jamaica. Our team of regular and part-time volunteers come from a diverse background and are committed to helping us achieve our goals. If you have some time to spare and would like to help, please get in touch for more information.
Vision
To make East Kent a place where Africans and people of African origin can be actively engaged, live healthily, and have equal opportunities.
Mission
- To empower Africans and people of African origin
- To enhance well being and challenge inequalities
- To be a voice for Africans and break down social, cultural, and economic barriers
- To facilitate a better understanding of African culture and promote community cohesion
- Service User Focused : We place our service users at the centre of what we do and strive to make a real difference to our communities.
- Collaboration : We work together with many people and organisations to achieve our vision.
- Respect : We listen, value, and respect the views of others.
- Equality and Diversity : We value our diverse community and individual differences and strive to create a supportive environment in which everyone’s contributions and talents are fully recognised.
- Accountability: We take responsibility for our performance and demand the highest standards of ourselves to meet our commitments to our communities and stakeholders.
Our Partners and Funders
What we do
Health and Well-being
Preserve Culture and Heritage
Community Cohesion
We promote health and wellbeing, work to reduce inequalities in health and social care for all minorities with a special
focus on Africans and people of African descent. We promote cultural diversity, share and celebrate cultural experiences
with local community, promote and participate in research and work in collaborations that benefit our communities.
How we do it
Community Outreach
We engage, in a culturally sensitive way, with African communities in places where they congregate to increase access to those who may otherwise not be reached by conventional means.
Socialising
We provide a space for Africans to socialise and reduce loneliness. We also encourage members to forge networks outside of the events to feel supported.
Socialising
We need volunteers to help us do our work. If you would like to volunteer with us, whether on a regular basis or one off, you will be welcome.
Cultural festivals
We want to preserve and share our heritage and culture with other communities through festivals and black history events.
Workshops
We hold online and in person workshops to give people skills, information, raise awareness of health & social care issues and get feedback from the community.
Volunteering
We help service users understand, access and navigate the health & social care and community services that will improve their health and well being.
Collaborations
We work with main stream providers and other voluntary and community groups to forge links, build relationships so as to ensure that voices of Africans are represented.
Training
Train and equip community members with the skills, understanding to promote community development and integration. Work with health and social care providers to improve their cultural competence.
Research
We promote community based research to empower local communities to identify their needs and finding sustainable, relevant and sustainable. We welcome research collaborations
Health & Well-being
The lifestyle choices we make can make a difference to our lives. They can increase or decrease our chances of becoming ill as we grow older. Even
small changes can improve one’s health and double their chances of staying healthy. Despite being at a higher risk, many Africans in the UK lack the
knowledge and awareness of these conditions while some do not perceive themselves to be at risk. We are also aware that there are nuances in every
community; each with their own attitudes, reactions and thought processes which may heighten the risk.
ETHNICITY & HEALTH
Why is it important?
Differences in health of Black and other minority groups compared to the rest of the population are well documented nationally through a significant amount of research conducted over the years. These differences in health status are driven by inequalities in society. Good health is shaped by many different factors such as lifestyle, income, educational attainment, job security, housing conditions, social networks, migration, racism, discrimination and poor delivery and uptake of health care services. Patterns of inequality in health vary by ethnicity, from one health condition to the next and also between men and women as well as between geographic areas.
As much as the variation in health between and within BME groups can be explained by differences in socio-economic status, other discrimination, poor delivery and take up of health care, differences in culture and lifestyle, and biological susceptibility should also be considered.
Karibu Kent is committed to offering culturally appropriate interventions to raise awareness and improve knowledge of these conditions in the different communities in order to prevent or reduce further transmission and/or mitigate their effects. In so doing, we hope to help Africans live more positive, healthier and productive lives.
Our health and well-being awareness programme focus on different conditions that disproportionately affect Africans and people of African origin in East Kent and the UK. These may include: Type 2 diabetes, Stroke, Heart disease, HIV, Mental Health, TB and Sickle Cell Anaemia, isolation, women’s health.
Culture & Heritage
Culture and heritage are important to a community as they shape individual and communities, connect us to our past, and form the basis of our future. The shared beliefs, norms, values, customs, behaviours characterise how people in the community interact with each other and their environment. This includes language, religion, art, music, social habits food, and religion. They all help enrich societies, foster a sense of community and strengthen community cohesion.
We believe that a rich variety of cultures and heritage contributes to the diversity of ideas, beliefs and practices in a society thus enhancing creativity, innovation and resilience which can lead to new ways of thinking and problem solving.
Learning about different cultures and heritages broadens one’s mind and understanding of the world, promotes empathy and fights prejudices. Heritage also provides a way of passing down knowledge, values, and experiences to the younger generations and thus ensuring that the cultures survive. Strong cultural identity provides communities with the resilience and stable foundation they need to cope with changes and challenges that come with migration.
Preservation of our culture and heritage in the UK involves using a multifaceted approach which includes education, awareness raising and community engagement.
How we do this:
- Workshops, seminars and cultural festivals.
- Storytelling and oral traditions.
- Commemorating African heritage e.g Black History month, Africa Day.
- Promoting African art and artists.
- Creating community centres and cultural spaces.
- Intergenerational programs to encourage interaction between older and younger generations.
- Support networks for immigrants to help them navigate life in the UK while maintaining cultural identity.
- Language preservation offer classes and encourage bilingual education.
- Advocate for policies that promote and protect diversity.
- Collaborate with other cultural groups to promote mutual understanding and respect.
- Advocate for policies that promote and protect diversity.
Our Project
WOMEN’S GROUP
African and BME women face many obstacles including cultural barriers, lack of opportunities and skills, low self esteem and domestic violence. They have limited opportunities in which they can highlight these issue that concern them. Our women’s group aims to provide support, friendship, a platform for voicing their issues. We also provides information, education, skills development, advocacy, and networking socially.
Past Projects
AFRI’S HEALTHWISE
The project aimed at improving the health and well-being of African communities in East Kent, by raising awareness of the benefits of making healthier food and lifestyle choices. It used community champions from the African communities to hold conversations and organise workshops, work with individuals and families to promote the importance of good nutrition in fighting infections like COVID, diabetes as well as raising awareness of type 2 diabetes, obesity and services available in a way that is culturally appropriate. The project worked closely with NHS weight loss programme to increase uptake through referrals.
Through this programme, the communities benefited from:
- Knowing about good nutrition and lifestyle
- Building social support networks Knowing what Type 2 diabetes is, who is at risk, signs and symptoms, myths and misconceptions, complications, and the NHS services that are available
- Being confident in making decisions about what they are buying and eating and how to make healthy meals.
- Being able to incorporate exercise in their daily life.
She CAN
The programme funded by Kent Community Foundation worked with minority ethnic women to improve their conversational English.
WEIGHT LOSS MANAGEMENT
Karibu Kent and KCHFT joined forces to work on the One
You Weight loss programme to make it more appropriate to Africans. The programme is a national evidence-based programme developed by Public Health England as part of a preventative approach.
Gallery
WE LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU
If you have an inquiry regarding the services we offer our community, you can use information on this page to contact us. Please don’t be shy, send us some feedback
from your experience with us.
karibukent@outlook.com
Want to Join Us as A Volunteer? Send us an email
A voluntary organisation is as strong as the community that supports it. Together, we can do more than we can do alone.
- Outreach
- Event Organising
- Admin support
- Workshop
Call us or write an email
If you have an inquiry regarding the services we offer our community, you can use the information on this page to contact us. Please don’t be shy, send us some feedback from your experience with us.