We’re back! Our News in Brief posts took a longer than planned hiatus over 2023 while our tiny team worked at maximum capacity on other projects but with our now not-so-new Comms Officer, Sam, settling in nicely, we’re starting to get our rhythm back.
Now, it’s over to Sam!
Here’s a taste of what’s been happening at SFAC lately:
🥳 We hit a major Major Milestone in 2023 – we’ve now worked with organisations based in 50 countries!!
Donations and support from all of you have allowed us to reach a quarter of the globe! 👏🏽
This is how the story of our 50th country unfolded…
Within just 24 hours of returning to the UK from Sierra Leone, Dan, our CEO was back on a plane to Africa to take advantage of a last-minute opportunity to speak at a UNICEF Conference in Botswana 🇧🇼
Sponsored by A4ID – Advocates for International Development and the British High Commission in Botswana, the conference focused on the ‘Child-Friendly Justice System’,
💭 So what was the main objective?! To foster reflective thinking and inspire positive change!
🌟 Together with the esteemed representatives from South Africa, and Zimbabwe, as well as Botswana politicians, officials, NGOs, local government, and legal agencies, the conference delved into thought-provoking discussions surrounding children in conflict with the law, child victims of abuse, and Dan’s topic of child protection.
It was truly a privilege for Dan to be part of Botswana’s reflective conversations on children’s justice.
🔑 As SFAC, we’re grateful to our amazing donors supporting our work in these 50 countries. We’re always eager to partner with and assist other organisations in child protection.
December saw the African members of team SFAC get together with Dan in Kenya- it was the first time we’d all met in person (well aside from Dan and Joseph who’ve been working together for years). Can you tell we had a good time?!
More info on why Dan was in Kenya in our next News in Brief update. We promise you won’t have to wait two years for it this time!
Fundraising for SFAC
While Isabel and I were in the same country AND the same city, we decided to film a little reminder for you all about using easy fundraising…
UK friends, did you know you can support SFAC while shopping online without spending any extra money?! 🤔
By signing up on easyfundraising, you can choose to shop online from over 7,000 brands and raise funds for SFAC without paying extra! 😃
It’s simple and only takes 2 minutes for you to sign up: https://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/sfaccharity/
Whenever you make a purchase, it generates a commission, and easyfundraising shares that money with your cause as a donation!
It won’t cost you any extra, sign up, and enjoy your shopping whilst raising funds for SFAC 😀
Enzygo Raises over £500 at their Golf Day
👏🏾 A big thank you to our incredible friends at Enzygo for organising and hosting a fun-filled golf day to raise funds for SFAC!
Enzygo is a team of environmental consultants in the UK who have been supporting SFAC for over 5 years now.
With everyone’s generous support, the Golf Day raised a whopping £520! 🎊
Mick clearly did not win with that putting ability, but he was very proud his son Kevin won!
If your business wants to host a golf day or join the Enzygo event in Stocksbridge, Sheffield, UK next year, please send us an email at info@sfac.org.uk
There are many different ways your company can have FUN and FUNdraise for SFAC if you’re not into golf, get in touch with us to find out more!
Hear from members of Team SFAC
Caitlin, our therapeutic trainer shared this 60-second secret science post on LinkedIn – if you’ve got any gift giving planned make sure you watch this first!
🙈 I was a little unsure about posting this video for a couple of reasons:
1️⃣ It’s a lighthearted look at a study that contributes to a much larger body of work around keeping secrets.
Work that highlights important aspects of
🌟 coping and resilience,
🌟 social ties and networks,
🌟 cultural differences and similarities,
🌟 and physical and mental health.
And the last thing I want to do is trivialise such work but I do also want to make science engaging, accessible and fun!
2️⃣
🎁 I’m not a fan of giving gifts people don’t want – our planet (and our bank accounts 💳) is drowning in unwanted stuff!
So please take this as an endorsement of the:
🕵🏼♀️ “Doing your best detective work and reveling in the secret joy of knowing you’ve found something the receiver will truly love” kind of gift-giving.
And not, the
🙄 “It’s tradition to give gifts on this occasion so I feel obligated to give you something” kind…
Aghhh… The highs and lows of trying to navigate short-form social media in a way that’s both entertaining and ethical!! 🤦🏼♀️
❓ Oh well, the question still stands – do you keep the contents of the gifts you’re giving a secret or do you spill the beans beforehand?!
For those who are interested, here’s the study and the book details:
📑Slepian, M. L., Greenaway, K. H., Camp, N. P., Galinsky, A. D. (2023). The bright side of secrecy: The energizing effect of positive secrets. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 125(5), 1018-1035
📕The Secret Life of Secrets by Michael Slepian.
Dan, our CEO, was returned to the Think Orphan podcast hosted by 1MillionHome last year. ⭐
In this episode, titled ‘The Westerner Abuse and Child Protection Conversation’, Dan joined Dr. Greg Burch from Multnomah University and Kelly Strong from The Kenyan Children’s Project to delve into crucial topics around child protection.
The discussions revolved around:
🔵 Child sexual abuse and exploitation in East African children’s homes aka “orphanages”
🟡 Fostering cultures of awareness and protection,
🟢 Developing national safeguarding processes,
🔵 Managing risks associated with child sponsorship, and
🟡 Establishing effective reporting mechanisms for children.
To learn more, listen to the podcast here: https://thinkorphan.com/2023/09/26/232-the-westerner-abuse-and-child-protection-conversation/
⚠️ Just a quick “Heads Up” ⚠️ The episode contains sensitive content, you may wish to consider where you listen to it as it may not be suitable for young listeners.
This episode from the visitor’s perspective was really interesting and challenging. We’d also love to hear from the people on the ground and get the local perspective. Maybe an idea for a future episode?! 🤔
SFAC was hosted at the House of Lords by Baroness Blake 😎
Well, SFAC has moved from having meetings in Mick and Brenda’s kitchen all the way to the prestigious House of Lords! 🥳
🔑 The House of Lords event was hosted by Baroness Blake of Leeds. The aim was to bring together organisations in the UK to connect, cooperate, and discuss how we can utilise our collective resources to improve childcare practices.
With representatives from the English judiciary also attending, this was a wonderful opportunity to engage with various organisations, sharing our expertise in social work and legal practice related to the care and protection of children worldwide.
The venue and the weather were absolutely stunning, creating a perfect atmosphere for fruitful discussions and networking. 🤩
In her speech, Baroness Blake highlighted the remarkable impact of our small organisation in driving positive change in the quality of care and protection provided by other organisations and countries and how important that work is.
She even referred to Mick as a hero! 🦸♂️
At SFAC, we deeply value partnership and collaboration with other organisations. 🤝
The feedback we have received has been overwhelmingly positive, and we eagerly look forward to forging more partnerships in the future!