What we have been up to and how Vegware funding has helped us.
Cilgwyn Community Group is a rural residents association near Newport Pembrokeshire. It was set up in Jan 2001 to promote sustainable communities within Wales, starting close to home and working outwards.
It has put on many events and been instrumental in starting a range of projects running today including renewable heating of 13 homes, hydro power for an off grid hamlet and Newport street market of local produce. We have increasingly moved towards supporting wider sustainability projects and neighbouring communities. The most exciting to date happened on 19th September this year, brief report below. This event would not have been possible without Vegware funding.
In the last year:
Vegware funding has made a small contribution to the Cilgwyn electric car club, RevCymru.
It has continued to support our sponsored refugee families by contributing towards the cost of a computer for them. The second Syrian family arrived in February this year and are settling in well. We have supported individuals as well to study and get the tools to work. Both the County Council we work with and myself as director of the charity have been nominated for UK awards this year and will be going to London this October for the awards ceremony.
Vegware has enabled two exciting new developments of wider importance. Since January this year we have been helping a group in a very deprived area to develop their social needs self help group. The group, Dezza’s Cabin based in Pembroke Dock has 800 facebook members. These are people who have suffered sometimes unbearably. The two founders lost their teenagers to suicide whilst the children were in care, and the parents efforts to get them home were rebuffed by social services.
Vegware has paid for the insurance cover which enables the group to provide full time support for a large number of people who are damaged by their circumstances and let down by the statutory services or mistrustful of them. This support has done a great deal of good.
One lad of 20 who has been on drugs and been tempted by suicide said an event we took him on ‘had given him back a reason to live’. He now stands on a stage to tell the story of the group and his personal story, while a few months ago he said nothing to anyone. A father who has lost contact with his son said ‘We are all nutcases, but together we are powerful, we can do anything’. The group are now preparing to lease a large shop so that people can come to it for help rather than chatting in a camper van outside their homes as they do at present.
Another major development is working with Extinction Rebels (XR) to influence Welsh government. Vegware helped with the necessary costs of putting on an all day conference at the Senedd in Cardiff this month. Councils from half the counties in Wales attended, represented by the people in them who get things done in terms of decarbonising. They reported to us and to each other on their progress and the barriers. We are now compiling the results of the day into a report, and into simple and obvious requests to Welsh government that they could do immediately. This is in line with the XR demand for government to Act Now.
So Vegware, your funds have achieved great things at local and now at Welsh national level, they are helping us achieve a greener world but also making sure those who have been the most severely damaged are empowered to help and heal each other.
