African Unite Against Child Abuse (AFRUCA)
Afruca works with black and ethnic communities to protect and safeguard children from abuse, modern slavery and exploitation, and tackles cultural and religious practices that harm children. Fabiola, one of our members who works for the charity, spoke at our August meeting with particular reference to county lines – where illegal drugs are transported from one area to another, often by children who are coerced by gangs. We were please to be able to give a donation to Afruca.
Manchester Action on Street Health (MASH)
Our Club has a long standing relationship with MASH – see our Local Projects page for more information.
Janelle Hardacre spoke at our September meeting and brought us up to date with the charity’s work. This enabled us to develop a comprehensive Programme Action plan for the year which includes donating a variety of much needed items depending on the time of year. During the hot weather we donated flip flops and sun cream. Later in the year we will donate underwear, tights and umbrellas.
History of Women’s Football
An appropriate topic following the success of the England women’s national football team in the UEFA Women’s Championship this year – the first time since 1966 that any England senior team has won a major championship.
Organised women’s football was recognised by the Football Association (FA) which was founded in 1863, but in 1921 the FA banned women’s football giving, as its reasons, the danger to women’s health and financial irregularities. Dr Clare Debenham spoke at our October meeting – she has examined the politics and social history behind the ban which wasn’t lifted until 1971 and provided us all with a very informative booklet.
Lendwithcare
Roberta Goodall of S I Kirkcaldy spoke to us via Zoom about this organisation with which her Club is already involved. We plan to make this one of our projects.