Freya Aitken-Turff (CF 2017) from London is the CEO of China Exchange, a cultural charity based in the capital’s Chinatown. In December 2020, Freya received a Covid-19 Action Fund grant for a 12-month project that facilitated discussions about the impact of pandemic-linked racism on Chinatown.

This is her second Action Fund grant. She will use it to develop the project by identifying ways to normalise talking about Covid-related hate crime within London’s Chinatown. This will involve recruiting and training an additional six project volunteers who will record the stories and experiences of 36 people who work in or visit Chinatown regularly, in a creative medium chosen by the volunteers. This creative medium will then be shared to raise awareness and strengthen understanding of the societal racism faced by Chinatown’s communities. Freya hopes that this will contribute to a safer and more resilient space in London.

Freya’s Fellowship to Canada, Malaysia, Singapore and the USA in 2017 explored perspectives on Chinatown's economic, cultural and social prospects. It was supported by The Linbury Trust.

Mohammed Dhalech (CF 2019) from Carlisle in Cumbria is the Chair of Mosaic Outdoors, a non-profit organisation that works to engage people from minoritised racial groups with the outdoors.

Mohammed will use his grant to develop a safety awareness campaign that will target ethnic minority communities who engage in outdoor activities. This is in response to research that shows that those from ethnic minority communities are disproportionally impacted by safety incidents on both land and water in UK landscapes. Mohammed plans to develop a series of short safety awareness sessions on some of the dangers of the outdoors, which he hopes to deliver on location in key areas across the UK. He will also develop safety videos and posters that reflect diversity, which will be distributed via social media, local community hubs and local press. Mohammed hopes to enlist the support of volunteers and partner with safety organisations to maximise impact and reach.

Mohammed’s Fellowship to Canada, Ireland and the USA in 2019 explored methods of engaging minoritised racial groups in the outdoors. It was supported by The Linbury Trust.

Freya Aitken-Turff (CF 2017) from Newham in London is the CEO of China Exchange, an organisation that promotes greater understanding of China’s international impact.

She will use her grant to launch a 12-month project that will facilitate discussion about the impact of pandemic-linked racism on Chinatown, and provide a counter-narrative to racist sentiment and prejudice that is harming the community. The project will give 88 participants the opportunity to join eight workshops on identity, racism and allyship, providing a platform for the community to share experiences and encouraging ideas about how to rebuild Chinatown's image and create an anti-racist narrative. Following this, a toolkit will be developed along with a report and advocacy pack, for the participants to communicate the new culturally sensitive narrative with opinion-formers, influencers and decision-makers.

Freya's Fellowship to Canada, Malaysia, Singapore and the USA in 2017 explored perspectives on Chinatown's economic, cultural and social prospects, and was supported by The Linbury Trust.

Laurelle Brown (CF 2018), from Waltham Forest in east London, is a principal consultant, programme manager and co-founder of KIJIJI, a membership organisation for BSPs.

She will use her grant to develop a framework and toolkit to encourage equitable career progression of BSPs and increase diversity in the safeguarding professional workforce. This will include running workshops with key sector organisations to co-develop an equitable framework, launching a website with training resources, and delivering a free leadership course for 50 BSPs. In a recent survey of BSPs across the UK, 100% stated that a priority of KIJIJI should be increasing the number of senior Black staff in safeguarding. Laurelle plans to expand this research, surveying other organisations to understand systemic barriers to racial equity in services. She hopes to effect change on a systemic level, increasing representation of BSPs across the workforce, particularly at senior levels, in order to deliver more inclusive services to children and young people. Laurelle's

Fellowship to France, Germany, Portugal and Sweden in 2018 explored foster care for adolescents with complex needs.

Alvin Carpio (CF 2014) is a human rights campaigner and entrepreneur from Newham in London. In May this year, he launched and co-founded End the Virus of Racism, a coalition of British-based East and South-East Asian academics and human rights advocates who are urging the UK Government to condemn these growing hate crimes and give extra protection to targeted communities.

Alvin will use his grant to set up the UK's first non-profit dedicated to addressing racism towards people of ESEA heritage. The non-profit will be led by people with lived experience of the problem and will provide support to victims of hate crime, including a hotline service and a peer support group. It will also connect with local community organisations for joined-up action and will conduct research to build knowledge, lobby the government and inform policy. Alvin hopes that the group will tackle the rise in hate crime and also underlying structural inequalities and racism in British society.

Alvin's Fellowship to the USA in 2014 explored how community leaders are transforming the lives of the socially excluded, and was supported by the National Council for Voluntary Youth Services.

Geraldine Esdaille (CF 2017), from Old Trafford in Manchester, has a BSc in counselling and psychotherapy and is currently studying for a postgraduate degree in public health. She is the founder of We Are Black Gold, a social enterprise that helps marginalised communities make sense of their difficult experiences and distress.

She will use her grant to create a psycho-educational training programme designed for Black and marginalised women. Ten women will be trained to deliver the programme to ten organisations across Greater Manchester. As a result of the training, they will be able to offer a tailored support programme for women from African, Caribbean and marginalised communities who are impacted by social, economic and health inequities. Geraldine hopes to collect data and learnings from the project, which can be used to inform the development of a wider training programme across public services and the mental health system.

Geraldine's Fellowship to the USA in 2017 explored culturally appropriate services for Black women, and was supported by the Mental Health Foundation.

Dr Erica McInnis (CF 2016), from Stockport in Cheshire, is a chartered clinical psychologist.

She will be using her grant to professionally publish and market self-help literature and online courses tailored for people of African heritage. The material will provide a culturally appropriate, African-centred perspective on emotional strategies to heal, survive and thrive during and after the pandemic. Erica will also use the grant to market and publicise these resources in order to reach a wide audience from the African heritage community, thus enabling a diverse population to have access to mental health support they can relate to and trust.

Erica's Fellowship to the USA in 2016 explored models of African-centred psychotherapy for wellbeing, and was supported by the Mental Health Foundation.

Jiselle Steele (CF 2014), from Balham in south-west London, is a senior project manager at SocialStarters, a female-led social enterprise that delivers consultancy and mentoring programmes to other social enterprises and entrepreneurs.

She will use her grant to lead the development and delivery of an enterprise support programme for female social entrepreneurs from minoritised racial groups. The programme will offer training, mentoring and an online toolkit to support them to overcome business challenges and access investment, providing guidance which will enable them to train others in their communities. Jiselle and the SocialStarters team will create a network of female social entrepreneurs from minoritised racial groups who are tackling structural inequalities in society through their work, to share learnings and best practice at online events and lobby for systemic change. Additionally, the programme will create a self-sustaining fund that enables female social entrepreneurs from minoritised racial groups to access small loans to scale up their businesses. Through this, Jiselle hopes to help address racial, disability and gender inequalities and build a fairer and more resilient economy.

Jiselle's Fellowship to Brazil in 2014 explored how enterprise can be used as a catalyst for social mobility amongst disadvantaged young people, and was supported by The Rank Foundation.