Faiths4change – a new prospect for the Northwest environment
Operation Eden, the forerunner for the Faiths4Change programme, gave concrete proof of the invaluable contribution that faith communities provide to our society in the Northwest.
Operation Eden was a pilot project, launched in 2004, which involved over a thousand volunteers working on over 50 projects in Merseyside. These included the regeneration of allotments by the Muslim-led, Al Ghazali Centre through to improvements to a section of the Leeds-Liverpool canal in Bootle by local volunteers. By improving local neighbourhoods and bringing together those who care about the welfare of their environment, we can demonstrate the importance of moving individuals towards a greater understanding and tolerance of diversity.
First envisaged by the Bishop of Liverpool, Reverend James Jones, Eden was piloted in Merseyside but with the project being such a success our hope was always that the partners involved could spread the experiences across the region and use the lessons learned over the three years of the project’s duration to improve the environments of communities across the Northwest while upskilling the participants in the programme. The success of Eden now ensures that Faiths4change can build upon the work trialled in Merseyside.
By using the environment as common ground, the programme helped people from different backgrounds work together to transform places and communities physically. This contributed to the sustainable development of these areas, providing social inclusion for the people on the programme and enhanced learning opportunities for those involved; all themes which fit in well with the Northwest Regional Economic Strategy. The strategy underpins everything we conduct as a regional development agency and it is programmes such as Eden and now Faiths4change that contribute to the continued delivery of our objectives for the future sustainable growth of our region.
In 2005 we also conducted a survey, ‘Faith in England’s Northwest’, to estimate the economic impact that faith communities make to our region. What we discovered was that our faith communities are strongest where social need is highest contributing immensely to the built heritage and acting as delivery agents of care not just in religious activity but managing projects that addressed social issues including homelessness, crime prevention, drug and alcohol abuse and social enterprise.
In the survey, we learnt of the essential part that these communities play in regeneration programmes witnessed succinctly in the 57 projects that Operation Eden alone completed. We estimated in 2005 that all our faith communities generated nearly £95 million per annum to civil society in the region. Their effect is self evident and I have every confidence that the next three years of the programme will continue to build upon the successes of Eden and underline to the whole region the real contribution that our faith communities invest in our environment and in our people.
