On 25th May, Strengthening Faith Institutions and Near Neighbours, organised a Big Iftar for the local community at St Anne’s Church Hall in Moseley, Birmingham, to share bread and as part of Ramadan. Members from all faith backgrounds and none were in attendance and people of all ages to come together and share conversations, food and share their commonalities as communities.
Near Neighbours objective is to bring people together in communities that are religiously and ethnically diverse, so that they can get to know each other better, build relationships of trust, and collaborate together on initiatives that improve the local community they live in. This is also in line with Strengthening Faith Institutions objective to empower grass root communities and build the capacity of faith organisations and places of worship.
Shakil Ahmed, the SFI consultant for Birmingham gave a short speech on his experience of working with grass root communities and the successes he has achieved.