“Every day I hear about extraordinary ways people survive”

The woman in this photo is Sheila Melzak, a psychotherapist. She runs the Baobab Centre for Young Survivors in Exile, a charity that helps child refugees. Specifically, her organisation works with children who have fled violence abroad, dreamed of finding sanctuary here in Britain, and somehow made it into the country on their own. These …

“People can come together and make things happen”

[A story of mine for The London Community Foundation] The closure of their local library shocked the St James Street community. But out of the ashes they are building something incredible… In April 1997 Alison Griffin, three-months pregnant and with a toddler in tow, took a two-week holiday in Libya. When she got home, she …

How a simple ‘what if?’ question is helping Hackney kids do better in school

[A story I wrote for The London Community Foundation…] Lots of great ideas start with a simple “what if…?” question. For Catriona Maclay, the moment came when she was talking with friends over dinner. As a secondary school teacher in North London, she’d noticed how easily young people could fall behind in their studies. Catriona …