“People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care”
You may have heard this saying that people do not care how much you know until they know how much you care. That has been so true for us at the Child and Family Centre with the new families that we have connected with and supported over the last months.
We are so grateful to Cumbernauld & Kilsyth Care for their continued monthly donation of nappies and wipes. These have been a great resource for making initial contact with guests. God is really using these acts of kindness to show something of His love to these families.
God given window of opportunity
One day our two adult workers were standing outside the Child and Family Centre arranging packs of nappies and two women from Afghanistan walked by with children in a pram. We were able to offer these women nappies and wipes and they were very thankful for the gesture.
A Chain of events
Within an hour, we had several families at the door asking for nappies and support with ongoing issues. We got talking to the families and realised that a lot of them had just arrived in Glasgow and had no English. We also ascertained that the guests love to make their own clothes and get creative with the sewing machine. We really wanted to support them in any way that we could.
Providing a needs led service
At the Child and Family Centre, we always need to be flexible and adaptable to the needs of the community. Sometimes we might have some ideas about what we want to do but ultimately God often has other plans. Once we identify a need we look and see if we can provide it or we signpost our guests to other services. We looked into English classes and realised that no one in the area was delivering in person classes. We made a decision to evolve our Monday afternoon International group into an English class. We also realised that we could run a sewing class on a Wednesday afternoon and we had two experienced volunteers that wanted to help.
We got on the case to source an English teacher for our Monday English class. God provided for us again with a highly skilled volunteer who was willing to help. We were also able to get material for clothes making and we had several sewing machines, so we were good to go.
Our English class now has a waiting list, as our numbers are limited due to space. The sewing class is going very well giving the guests a safe space to relax and be creative. After further discussions, the team identified the need for a male English teaching class. God has been so faithful again and provided us with a teacher to lead this class which will start in the New Year.
Accessing all our services
From initially offering some nappies to two guests, we are now connecting with multiple adults and children. We have been encouraged as the families are not just accessing the English and sewing classes but also attending other services that we run such as, the family holiday club, youth group and parent and toddlers group.
We are in contact with several families on a weekly basis assessing their needs and helping in any way we can. We have been able to offer food vouchers, energy vouchers and furniture. We were fortunate to source furniture for a family that needed most household goods. The family has a young boy and another baby on the way so it was pleasing to provide these items to make things a little bit more comfortable.
I really believe that these families have found community at the Child and Family Centre as this is a place that they can come with their children and feel safe. I have seen the difference in their faces over the months as they are not as stressed and as tense as they once were. When they come now they are full of smiles and that just gladdens our hearts.
James Hawthorn
Adult Worker
