Fuse place a huge importance on social value and extending this to assist where possible in outreach programs. We have raised funds and facilitated donations to several food banks in London. We have also assisted with homeless and temporary housing projects, working most recently with St Mungoes, Refuge (a women’s anti-violence group) and the Peckham food bank association.

We work with local schools in Southwark, attending careers fairs to inspire young students to look at careers within the built environment, and supporting those from diverse backgrounds. We want to educate girls on the different opportunities within this ‘male dominated’ industry, and we do this alongside an external women’s group ‘Forging Links’ that we formed 4 years ago.

As a team, we love working on community initiatives and we are keen to take our involvement outside the UK. One of our Architects, Kat, visited Ntethelelo Foundation in Johannesburg in January 2022 and communicated the importance of the work being carried out and how she would like Fuse to help.

"The Ntethelelo Foundation is a non-profit organization based in Setswetla, one of the poorest and densest informal settlements in the Alexandra Township, Johannesburg. The Foundation uses applied drama and theatre techniques as facilitation tools for dialogue with young women and more recently young men. The tools and techniques help them build resilience and enable their voices to foster behavioural and social change, healing, and personal growth.

The Foundation was established by Thokozani Ndaba, a qualified theatre practitioner, activist, and facilitator. It was founded as an urgent response to the daily perils faced by young women, living in a community taken hostage by abject poverty, crime, gender- based violence, HIV, and unrelenting trauma. The Foundation also recognises the failures of mainstream education and therefore functions as an after-school programme.

Ntethelelo Foundation employs volunteers to tutor the students in core subjects such as mathematics and science, as well as to facilitate social activities and therapies for the students and their families.

Ntethelelo Foundation is reliant on funding, donations, and gifts to carry out their work" - Kathleen Halloran

With Kat’s connection as a volunteer to the Ntethelelo Foundation, hosting a fundraiser was a great opportunity to really make a difference. We are proud to have raised enough funds to now buy them an electric generator which will make a huge difference to the Foundation.

For more information please visit their webiste: https://ntethelelofoundation.org.za