There are approximately 300,000 Travellers and Gypsies in the UK. As a community they often face persecution; literacy levels are low and many children do not attend secondary school.
One charity working to address such issues is the Gainsborough Traveller Initiative, which provides learning opportunities to the Traveller community in Lincolnshire. Established in 1995, the charity was initially set-up to run parent and toddler groups, but as the years progressed and the organisation became a trusted provider, demand soon outgrew capacity.
As Paul Boucher, Treasurer of the Gainsborough Traveller Initiative, explains: “The children we worked with as toddlers had grown up and we wanted to provide the whole community with learning opportunities. For us to do this we needed a dedicated, full-time member of staff. Without the money to pay for somebody it was make or break time.
“Someone suggested we approach the Lloyds TSB Foundation for England and Wales – as they were one of the few funders providing grants for salaries and other core costs. I contacted the Foundation’s central London office directly who talked me through what I needed to do.
“I have to say the application process was really straightforward. After passing the online eligibility test we had a visit from Gary, the Grant Manager for our area, who assessed our funding request. It was very refreshing to meet a Grant Manager in person prior to completing an application. It gave us the chance to talk through our project and funding request, as opposed to blindly filling out a lengthy application form without having any idea whether we would be successful.”
That was back in 2008 and after successfully completing the application process, the charity was awarded a three year grant of £47,167, for the salary of a Project Manager.
Fast forward two years and the charity, as a result of the funding from the Lloyds TSB Foundation, has now set-up a supplementary school for Traveller children who are not in mainstream education.
Operating two to three days a week the school runs numerous accredited courses for 11 to 25 year olds including food hygiene, IT, bricklaying, first aid and sewing. Additionally, through partnering with various local organisations, the charity has set-up vocational training for the young people. Members of the school’s alumni have completed work placements with the local fire service and two nurseries and designed and staged their own charity fashion show. What’s more ten of the students have gained the Bronze Arts Award from Trinity College, London.
One young graduate, Jane, explains the impact the school has had on her: “The Gainsborough Traveller Initiative has changed my life. We’re going places and doing things we would never have done before.”
“We are now able to offer young people the chance to gain practical and transferable skills, which have not only made them more attractive to employers but increased their confidence and self-esteem,” continues Paul. “This year alone our pupils have gained 33 accredited awards and have gone on to apply for college and jobs; something they would never have considered before.”
Paul and his team aren’t quite ready to finish just there and are currently in talks with Lincolnshire County Council about rolling out a model of their supplementary school across the entire county.
“These talks really signify how far we’ve come in the last three years and Gary has been extremely helpful and approachable throughout the entire process. This project has had a profound impact on the lives of these young people and, we hope, it will continue to do so for generations to come.
“The funding from the Lloyds TSB Foundation has meant everything to this organisation,” concludes Paul. “These young people are often classed as disengaged and outside of the ‘system’, so projects like ours don’t tend to receive a lot of funding. The Lloyds TSB Foundation saw our beneficiaries for what they really are – members of a community that are disadvantaged by their cultural heritage – offering them fantastic opportunities, which they are certainly taking full advantaged of.”
