This page gives further details about the SACOMA organisation awarded £244,480 over three years in 2006/07 through the Partnership Grants Scheme.
Sahara Communities Abroad (SACOMA) provides Information, advice and guidance and a range of initiatives and support programmes to meet the needs of the migrant and Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities. They work to support people to gain access to available resources, increase self-esteem and foster personal and community development.
- Visit SACOMA's website at www.sacoma.org.uk
Time To Make a Difference project
The project was designed to stimulate involvement and participation in the democratic process, increasing interest in politics and elections amongst African, migrant and BME communities across the UK.
The project delivered conferences, outreach events, interactive workshops and presentations to people in community settings, explaining democratic structures and institutions and the process of registering to vote. They also provided training to young people which introduced them to the electoral system and their role in influencing change. Our grant funded salaries, outreach events and other associated project costs.
Outcomes achieved
The project was structured to deliver a programme of awareness raising events. Sacoma delivered an itinerary of roadshows, conferences and democracy events, increasing the awareness of democracy for 4,724 BME people throughout the life of the project. The Time to Make a Difference project also concentrated on more qualitative work involving outreach events that provided one to one sessions, reaching a total of 4,418 BME people.
They established strong links with grassroots organisations nationwide to promote a sustainable legacy for this project. Sacoma distributed 3,354 voter registration forms to members of the BME community. This figure highlights Sacoma's success in emphasising the importance of voter registration at each of their events.
Case study
As part of the ongoing establishment of local links with grassroots organisations, Sacoma delivered an outreach event at a Barnabas workshop which provided information and advice on electoral processes and voter registration. Margret, a participant at this event, initially felt that decision makers were impossible to approach and that they did not actively engage with their local constituents.
Margret was particularly enthused by the idea of engaging in a one to one Sacoma session on political awareness and democracy and was advised by Sacoma that there were fortnightly local councillor and MP surgeries where she could go to discuss local issues and resolutions.
After receiving advice from the Time to Make a Difference outreach workers, Margret visited her local councillor's surgery and registered to vote. Margret is now a regular at Sacoma events and is also a strong advocate for people to get involved with the political decision making process. Margret feels that this is the best way for people to positively influence the management and sustainable development of their local areas.
