A SOUTHAMPTON charity has been selected as one of the featured charities at the Afro Festival of Food and Art (Affa Festival) taking place in August (2022).
Representatives from Communicare and its commercial arm, CommuniBakes, will be in attendance at the festival on August 27 and 28 at Highbridge Farm in Otterbourne.
Nick Thomas, Development Officer at Communicare, said: “We are very excited that we have been selected as one of three charities to be promoted at the Affa Festival taking place this summer.
“As part of being invited to the festival, we will be given two stands, one to promote Communicare and talk to attendees all about the work we do to help reduce loneliness and isolation in Southampton, and the other to sell delicious treats from the commercial arm of the charity, CommuniBakes, which is a community bakery. All the profits from any sweet treats sold will go towards the work that we do in neighbourhoods across the city.”
Affa Festival is an annual celebration of African culture as expressed through art, music, food and community. It connects diverse people and families from across the region with artists, performers, food vendors, business owners and media.
It aims to become Hampshire’s main destination for teaching, sharing and celebrating the distinctive cultural traditions of Africans in Southampton and from around the world.
Ally Molyneaux, Bakery Manager at CommuniBakes at 21, St James Road, Shirley, said: “We’re thrilled to have a stand alongside Communicare at Affa Festival, it’s a great platform to talk to people about the work it does and it is a fantastic opportunity for people to try the delicious sweet and savoury treats we make at the bakery. We hope lots of people pay a visit to the stands during the weekend.”
Tickets for the festival are available to purchase at https://bit.ly/3L8VkD5.
Munnya Usuwana, Event Organiser and CEO of Affa Festival, said: “If it wasn’t for Communicare, many lonely and isolated people in Southampton would be suffering in silence, so the work it is doing is fantastic and we thought it was a very worthy charity to support.”
Communicare, which is a friendly, neighbourhood charity, provides services that enrich the lives of lonely and isolated people in and around Southampton. Its services are staffed by its devoted volunteers, known as Communiteers, who give their time freely.
The charity’s Good Neighbours’ Network is currently supporting around 570 individuals/families through tasks including one-to-one telephone befriending and transport for essential appointments and assistance with shopping.
The services Communicare provides are free to users, although beneficiaries are invited to make a donation if they are able to, and Communiteers are offered expenses.
To find out more about Communicare, please visit www.communicareinsouthampton.org.uk.
For more information about Affa Festival, please visit www.affa.uk.
