Projects - Karibu Community Action Kent

Funded by Kent Councty Council (KCC)

Sexual health Awareness

People from African and ethnic minority communities are not in frequent contact with sexual health services, either due to lack of access or because they are unaware of the services available to them. This project is funded by KCC help gain an understanding of the needs of African and ethnic minorities, build trust with them and help to break down the barriers to access with the aim of improving sexual health outcomes and equity across Kent.

Aims of work

· Raise community awareness about sexual health and sexual health services available to access.

· Promote health messages about sexual health and wellbeing.

· Promote KCCs sexual health offers including testing, contraception and services available for people to access.

· Encourage the uptake of KCCs sexual health offers as trusted people working with these communities on the ground.

· Help KCC to understand the effectiveness of the current offer and how to optimise this

· Help KCC to understand the barriers and enablers to access (including stigma, conflicting or false messaging and their source, and how best we can work together to address this).

· Work with KCC to understand these communities better and to serve them better, together.

Information on sexual health services in Kent:

Find expert advice on your sexual health at kent.gov.uk/sexualhealth
Order a free, confidential STI test online or visit a clinic. Find out more at kent.gov.uk/sexualhealth
Your sexual health is as important as your physical health, take control get advice from experts at kent.gov.uk/sexualhealth
It’s important to take control of your sexual health, find out about contraception choices, getting an STI test or visiting a clinic at kent.gov.uk/sexualhealth
Please make kent.gov.uk/sexualhealth a link
Privacy
Sexual Health Clinics are confidential, and no-one is told of your visit or what tests and treatment you receive.
However, if you go to your GP, any test and treatments will go on your medical notes.
So, choose where you feel comfortable

Women's Group

A place to build friendships

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 as well as 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.

Our Volunteers

A voluntary organisation is as strong as the community that supports it. Together, we can do more than we can do alone.