The African Francophone Integration Project Vision

The African Francophone Integration Project envisions a socially improved life of the vulnerable target population as self-reliant, active, and a hopeful people that contribute to the development and improvement of their social living conditions and of their specific communities.
Mission Statement
The African Francophone Integration Project was established in 2003. The main aim of the project is to provide help and support to African Refugees, Asylum seekers and migrants, especially French Speaking, who live or who just move into Manchester, to integrate the wider British community and to increase their accessibility to local services that are there for them, to improve their quality of life as many of them face isolation and find difficult to access services because of lack of mainstream in French. To achieve this aim, we offer services that include advice, signposting, orientation, interpretation and translation services.
AFIP offers: Free basic advice on Housing, Education, Health, Employment, Debt, Benefits and Council Tax. Music, Drama and Leisure. Education on Black History and Africa Culture.The African Francophone Integration Project is committed in addressing existing harsh social conditions faced by the identified vulnerable groups in the population. It acts as a catalyst in sourcing for means, equipment and materials, providing advice, contributing to efforts and development of programmes that are directly or indirectly aimed at reducing the unfavourable natural and unnatural living conditions hence targeting the systematic social development manner of the vulnerable groups in the French speaking people living in Manchester: Refugees, Asylum seekers and migrants.
Goals
To address disparities, amenities and to propose and be part of the solution by actively participating in the efforts put in place to bring change in basic living conditions of vulnerable groups in the society in the Immigration, health and educational aspects. To promote, ameliorate, facilitate and initiate social development programmes and projects that can bring adequate and desired changes that improve the basic living conditions of the targeted vulnerable people in the area of Immigration, health and education.
Assist and support especially vulnerable women, girl-child and children in their social endeavours.
Objectives:To attain the goals set above the Foundation will address the following objectives

To assist, initiate and source funding for programmes and projects that support the social development of the vulnerable target population in communities. Aiming to make good projects in Congo starting from Brazzaville.
Design, propose and support health-oriented programmes and projects that aim at addressing health problems such as the Human Immune Virus/Acquired Immunised Deficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS), Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs), childhood pregnancies and Family planning issues.
Support and facilitate programmes, projects, initiatives and efforts that address problems affecting vulnerable children in terms of education and health.
Encourage international and national cooperation between and among local and community group based non-governmental organisations, business communities, international and national associations and foundations so as to facilitate the learning and exchange of expertise, experience and advice in related programmes and projects fields.
Encourage both formal and informal learning skills and knowledge that will aid in the management of self-run projects and the reduction of illiteracy to reduce ignorance.
Encourage and support the development of recreational and sports centres for the children and the youth for the purposes of physical and mental health development with our netwok.
Strategies
To achieve objectives as set above, the AFIP has adopted the following strategies:
Design programmes and projects as solution packages that respond to the social needs and need for services by the vulnerable targeted groups. Fundraising and advocacy for finance and material resources needed for the implementation of programmes and projects plans and activities. Creation of specialized centre and institutions that will address specific challenges of the vulnerable people.
Work in partnership with other organizations and agencies in designing solutions and the implementation of action programmes and projects for co-financing.

A catalyst for financial resource and technical assistance mobilization to enable other non-governmental organizations to respond to challenges and opportunities by financing socially and community based projects.
Develop the capacity of community based Community Group seeking to increase self reliance in activities at the community level through the development of minimum projects with the support.
Assist vulnerable people and people with disability in acquiring necessary handcraft skills that will permit them to acquire new knowledge, better opportunities for jobs and self employment for purposes of reintegration in their communities.
Support the development of leadership and management skills for community based NGOs and associations through the initiation of conferences, workshops, seminars for purposes of formation and capacity building.
Areas of Interventions

Education
Education is a weapon for development and fight against ignorance. Focus is put on giving vulnerable women and children a chance to learn their mother tongue. Refugees, asylum seekers, migrants and those with disability and low income will get a chance to acquire the Basic primary education and the adults will have an opportunity to know how to read and write through Adult Literacy Esol course.
Health
The issue of health is diverse and is a major concern as it encompasses and plays an important role in the functioning of all other activities. This includes primary health care, health centres institutional capacity building, support the equipping of health centres with material and human resources. Support an advocate for a healthier living environment through the provision of basic necessities like clean and safe drinking water, food cloth and shelter.
Signposting on immigration, Interpretation and translation
Targeted Population:
African French speaking: booth children and parents
People living with disability and with special needs.

Women:
Widowed women as a result of war and who fled from their countries of living.
Women living positively with HIV/AIDS
Women victims of war, domestic violence, rape and other anti human atrocities done against women.
Women living with disabilities (handicapped).
Child mothers.
People with disability:
Women, men, children and youth with physical and mental handicap.
Associations and organized community with common interest groups.
Communities: Organised communities (organised vulnerable group of individuals).
Non-governmental organizations occupied with assisting vulnerable groups of women, children and people living with disability in the Greater Manchester.
The needs the proejct is to address are wide ranging therefore the need for a holistic approach. Through community consultations, user group meetings and feedback from questionnaires, we have found families with children and individual members of the community facing complete isolation due to a lack of culturally and linguistically appropriate services within the mainstream. We have found within the community a lack of suitable housing, homelessness, issues of poverty and debt, immigration issues, domestic violence and other internal family issues, health and substance misuse related issues, a very high unemployment rate. Other issues include a complete lack of awareness on support services that are available to this community and those that are aware of services, being too afraid to access these due to cultural inappropriateness and language barriers. The project already has approx 300 service users registered onto the database and 95% of these reside in the East Manchester area.
Advice Kit: We provide advice in the language that people can understand: Mboshi, Kuyu, French, Lingala, Swahili, Kikongo, Kipunu, ….some other languages spoken in African French speaking countries.
We provide advice and information about:
• Council services - such as adult social care, children's services, Advocacy on housing, Employment, education, leisure
• Benefits, Pensions and Tax Credits
• Debt
• Housing rights and homelessness
• Consumer Law
• Basic immigration rights: signpost and referrals, Interpretation and translation.( Networking with Language Empire, Greater Manchester Immigration Aid Unit, M4, and other organisations based in Manchester.
Manchester Advice is changing the way it runs its service.
• We want to be able to provide efficient and effective services, delivered by a skilled workforce representative of the community we serve.
• This will enable us to meet the vision for our service of providing the highest quality accessible advice services in social welfare law.
• Our objectives clarify the way in which we hope to achieve this and our web pages will continuously be updated to inform you about changes to our services as they happen
For additional information please fill this form:
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Address:
Beswick-Manchester
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E-mail address:

Tel: 01612036155
Fax: 01612036155
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Contact us:
Contact persons: Vice Chair/Mr. Raphael Ngoma Tsasa: 07727120690 / 07536705031 & Chairman/Mr. Methode Massoussa Nguimby: 07908012606
Philipe Oniangue: Representant MSD/Charge de la jeunesse. United Kingdom: 07928762098