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My charity challenge
• AS the new Mayor of Islington I’d like the opportunity to raise the profile of my two chosen charities, which I will be supporting this year. They are the Medical Foundation for the Victims of Torture (also known as The Medical Foundation) and Room2Heal.
Both of these organisations provide much-needed support to refugees and asylum seekers.
The Medical Foundation is the only organisation in the UK dedicated solely to the treatment of torture survivors, offering medical advice, psychological treatment and practical help. Room2Heal is a local charity supporting victims of gross human rights violations through a range of therapeutic groups and creative activities.
I’ve known about and been a supporter of The Medical Foundation for a number of years, but only discovered Room2Heal more recently, on a visit to Culpepper Gardens at Angel, where the charity has a plot worked by its clients.
This is extraordinarily valuable in giving refugees and asylum seekers the feeling that there is at least somewhere they belong and it enables them to get to know their fellow gardeners as part of a community.
With the help of local people and organisations, I’ve already managed to raise £2,000 for these two charities, but this is just a beginning. Last year’s Mayor, Stefan Kasprzyk, raised a huge amount of money for his charity, Kids Afloat, and I’m hoping to do just as well, if not better, this year for The Medical Foundation and Room2Heal.
I hope residents and businesses will be as enthusiastic and I’d urge readers to visit the charities’ websites – www.torturecare.org.uk and www.r2h.org.uk – to find out more about the fantastic work they do.
CLLR ANNA BERENT
Mayor of Islington
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