Ocean Somali Community Association (OSCA)

Status

ongoing

City

London

Main actors

NGO / Philanthropy, Community / Citizen Group

Project area

Metropolitan Area

Duration

Ongoing since 2014

A charity organisation providing services to residents in East London to foster their integration.

OSCA is an innovative charity organisation running free services for residents in East London. The organisation's aim is to provide support services for the Somali community in the East End of London to access opportunities, strengthen relationship with mainstream service providers to create social changes.

Their mission is to help the Somali community become more self-confident, healthier and economically stronger by tackling inequality and promoting unity. They help the Somali community to become better skilled both educationally and professionally enabling improved integration into wider society.

Principles governing OSCA's activities include:

Providing free confidential advice, supporting services and information to their users.
Committing to their equal opportunity policy and procedures.
Seeking user feedback, their views and endeavour to listen and learn from them to improve their services.
Taking up all social issues within their community.

For further information about the case study, click here.

Sustainable Development Goals

Since its inception, OSCA has built a range of services for Somalis and other communities to come together to share information, exchange knowledge and skills.

OSCA has good relationship with many service Providers in the UK to enable the Somali Community to access mainstream programmes and facilities, such as regeneration initiatives, employment and training and cross-cultural events. OSCA aims to take stock of the Olympic opportunities in East End.

Project examples:

Mothers & Daughters Healthy Lives Project

Funded by Healthy Borough program, the project worked with women and their families by delivering healthy lifestyle workshops and activities. Project has delivered healthy cooking classes with nutrition, lifestyle coaching and gardening. The women were thought how to grow in pots and balconies.

Somali Youth Development Project

This project builds the capacity of Somali Youth organisations in Tower Hamlets to deliver high quality and effective youth work provisions and able to meet the Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills and funders requirements. It's chaired by senior officers from the Borough and meets every month. Achievement this year:

Multi-Youth Centre continued to provide social activities for local youths in the evening and weekends to benefit from a range of diversionary activities. It served over 200 young people this year.
The club ran courses and social activities for both girls and boys from different backgrounds.
Supported 4 youth workers to complete Youth & Community work qualification at Tower Hamlets College.
Supported 10 Somali led voluntary organisations working with the community and offered capacity building support.

Community Involvement Project

Funded by Comic Relief, the project works with women and young people from the local community who usually do not mix. The project runs workshops and teaching communities to use existing skills and empower them to work with others in the community. Women and young people worked on the building and decorating of the community centre to make it better place for the whole of the community. Young people fund-raised £16,500 from the Tower Hamlets Youth Opportunity Fund for the extension of the centre to include ICT suite for young people.