Community Exchange

Thornaby - Manila Community Exchange Project

Church Action on Poverty played the primary supporting role on the UK side of the project. The aims of the project are: • To explore the relationship between poverty in the UK and poverty in a developing country • Support and develop an active network within and between both communities • Raise awareness about poverty and promote positive change

These aims were, primarily, to be achieved through a series of exchange visits between the two communities over a three-year period, which would aim to enable up to eighteen people to travel each way. Great emphasis was placed on ensuring that those directly experiencing poverty would not only be involved in their own locality but would also get the opportunity to participate in the visits. This has resulted in over half of those going on exchanges having experience of living in poverty within their own communities. The five groups visiting Manila from Thornaby consisted of people who were unemployed, on Income Support, lone parent, disabled, student, GP, teacher, local community activists, town councillor. Members of the groups visiting Thornaby from Manila consisted of urban poor people from the National Government Centre (NGC), Quezon City and Community Organisers from COPE.