In lockdown, so many people in our local communities have struggled to make ends meet. We were not content to let people in our community struggle alone, so we got involved in a new development that was being explored by Bethany Christian Trust and Building Bridges Project.
They helped to bring together a small group of local charitable organisations:
- Pall Singh;
- Asian Concern;
- The Mosque Kitchen;
- Panjabi Junction (Asian Women’s Project); and
- St Peter’s Church.
It was agreed that because of the hardship many individuals and families were facing, we should explore setting up and distributing food. This would help to provide one or two hot meals a week for those in the community that were facing enormous challenges. We all met remotely to discuss how we could help local people in our communities.
The Disaster Emergency Committee (DEC) had launched an appeal fund. Standing together as six organisations, we put in a joint bid to apply for a food distribution project fund. We were pleased to discover that our application was successful! We were awarded funds to provide to our local communities to work mainly in Edinburgh and the surrounding area.
Asian Concern distributed over 100 meals a month for free to those who were struggling, had health issues, or were unable to get to the shops. We also received an additional one-off funding to set up a group to provide telephone support or video calling support to people who just wanted to talk to someone. Both these initiatives were carried out in partnership with other organisations – making us stronger and helping us reach more people in our community. As the Bible tells us, “two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labour.” (Ecclesiastes 4:9)
God was able to use our small service and multiply it!
"As the Bible tells us, “two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labour.” (Ecclesiastes 4:9)"
Stories of Hope 2: Explore the series
This article is part of a six-part series of stories of hope. Click through to more stories in the series below, where Christians share how God has called them to show His love:
Hope from altar to kitchen table
Sharing food builds bridges with those inside and out of church – here's our story
