The Eritrean Community Centre

Who we are and what we do

The Eritrean Community Centre (ECC – charity registration number 1134326) was set up in April 2000 under the umbrella of the Eritrean Orthodox Christian Community Church (charity registration number 1044068).

The ECC aims to provide mother tongue (Tigrinya) education and supplementary education to young Eritreans. The Centre also aims to address the pastoral needs of both pupils and their families. To this end, the organisation has strong parental involvement, both in classroom and support activities.

The principal activities of the ECC are designed to address the lack of mother tongue and supplementary education available to young Eritrean children, by organising various classes during the evenings and weekends. The Centre also provides social events to raise cultural awareness among all its members.

The work of the ECC is integral and striving for balance in preserving cutural identity and enhancing the academic performance amongst Eritreans. The Centre therefore provides improved learning opportunity for Eritrean children to study and improve their mother tongue and other supplementary lessons, which in turn help to create a study regime to better cope with mainstream schoolwork.

The Centre receives funding from its parent organisation, the Eritrean Orthodox Christian Community Church and other external donors, including The Community Fund/National Lottery (whom in 2001 granted us a quarter of a million pound to create a fully refurbished and more easily accessible community centre as well as to create more space for supplementary school and advice centre) and the London Borough of Southwark and Community Fund/Awards For All (whom have fully funded various projects such as  the Integration Project).

Activities

• Provide weekly Tigrinya classes for children of Eritrean extract. Classes take place on Saturdays during term time.
• supplementary education in subjects of English, Mathematics and Information Technology. These lessons are conducted as part of the Homework Club and takes place on Saturdays.
• Provide social events to raise cultural awareness amongst all its members. These events bring together pupil and parents and aim to bridge the inter-generational gap.
• Organise Summer Holiday Play-scheme as a supplement to the Centre’s mother tongue and cultural activities undertaken during term time. The Play-scheme programmes include museum visits, day outings and various sporting activities.