Completed projects

The Afghanistan and Central Asian Association (ACAA) was founded in 2001 by Dr Nooralhaq Nasimi, a refugee who arrived in the UK with his young children in a refrigerated container in 1999. Dr Nasimi is the current Director, providing continuity for the charity in retaining its values and mission, and establishing a sound reputation amongst the minority and broader communities.

The charity opened its new office in Hounslow in 2023. Its recent expansion to Hounslow was prompted by the fact that Hounslow has the highest population of Afghans in London, yet there is no organisation dedicated to serve as a grassroots and frontline charity in Hounslow and the surrounding areas.

ACAA is a voluntary organisation that works to empower refugees and asylum seekers, particularly from Afghanistan and Central Asia, from the point of their arrival and throughout their transition to UK settlement. Refugees experience multiple disadvantages ranging from language barriers to being victims of domestic violence and suffering from poor mental health. We understand that disadvantages acting together can make it more difficult for people to integrate and prosper and as such we provide holistic services that cater to the complex and often intersecting needs of our beneficiaries.

Over 50% of staff and trustees and 80% of volunteers come from a refugee or migrant background, and many have previously been beneficiaries of ACAA. 

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SHOCC worked with a Maryknoll Sister who runs a Saturday Club for 56 orphans, disadvantaged young people at Isamilo, Mwanza, Tanzania. The Club meets once a week where tuition, exercises and games are provided by qualified staff.

Twice a year, workshops are provided that focus on life experiences, showing the children how to protect themselves and become better members of society. SHOCC has donated £3,500 to support the work of the Groups.

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To help the Engaruka community to develop, SHOCC worked with the Parish Priest to provide musical instruments and seating provision at the town church. Following a visit by a SHOCC trustee in 2022, a request was presented for funding to replace an old amplifier used in the church. The trustees agreed to provide most of the funds required and asked the community to provide the rest.

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The Foundation for Needy Students was established in 1996 as a Charitable Institution to help needy young people, especially students in the primary and secondary schools in the tri-island states of Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique. It is located in the Parish of St David’s, Grenada, West Indies.

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SHOCC worked with a family environmental company to provide nearly £28,000 of financial support to develop classrooms at a Tanzanian primary school. Architectural advice was provided on classroom structure and layout. With the help of a dedicated fund manager, SHOCC raised £41,000 to complete the project.

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The demand for secondary school places in Kenya is high especially amongst girls. Providing dormitories raises girls’ performance levels and reduces teenage pregnancies. This project provided funding to complete a girls’ dormitory, provided easier and more reliable access to clean water and complete a classroom.

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Kenya received many thousands of refugees during the civil war in Rwanda, many of whom migrated to Nairobi. This project provided a small amount of funding to enable a weaving project to be established by the Sisters of the Assumption at their convent at Kawangware in Nairobi.

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SHOCC worked with a past post-graduate student of St Mary’s University and contributed £2,500 over two years towards the costs of constructing a school and orphanage in Zimbabwe.

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SHOCC was delighted to be invited to act as a link charity for one of several major initiatives in memory of Molly Burdett. Molly joined St Mary’s to train as a teacher in May 2015. Towards the end of her second year, she was diagnosed with Histiocytosis (HLH), a rare and life- threatening condition. She died in St George’s Hospital on July 1st.

Thanks to the hard work of Molly’s mum, Jane Burdett, and her team of friends and relatives, the Molly’s Smile Fund was established with a target of £21,000 to create an assisted technology suite at the university to support students with dyslexia, a problem Molly faced through her education. Molly was a happy, warm and friendly girl, which often masked her daily struggle with dyslexia and her relentless and conscientious approach to her studies.

A wide range of events was held to raise funds including family fitness days, bike rides and dinners. The £21,000 was met mid-way through 2017 and eventually, by the end of 2018 when the Fund was closed, the total raised was a magnificent £35,157. Today the University provides a fully equipped facility that meets the needs of students with learning difficulties such as dyslexia.

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Girl’s secondary education remains underrepresented in Kenya. This project seeks to provide funding to improve Muthetheni girls’ school’s science laboratories. This project provided £28,000 to renovate the three science laboratories at the school. The funds came from a generous legacy from Amy Hemmings, a long-term member of the geography teaching staff at the university. The school now has amongst the best science laboratory provision in the District.

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SHOCC worked with a past St Mary’s university student to fund the computer laboratory at a boys’ secondary school in Ghana.

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SHOCC worked with several parish priests at Marigat, Kenya to construct a new infant school on land donated by the Irrigation Board. Three classrooms, an office, toilets and kitchen were constructed between 2013 and 2016. 

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SHOCC worked with the Sisters of the Assumption to acquire the land for the school near Moshi Town in Tanzania; in building classrooms, laboratories, computer rooms, dormitories, toilet/shower blocks, and a kitchen. Dedicated accommodation for the Sisters is also planned. Over the period 2008 to 2017, SHOCC provided £88,418 of funding.

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SHOCC has supported Marigat Parish and St Paul’s school since the 1980s through funding to construct classrooms and other facilities.

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 SHOCC has supported St Paul’s Youth Club in Putney when it lost its Council grant. It is managed by a university member of staff. We will provide funds to help with the Club running costs. 

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SHOCC supported this water project in Zambia in 2017. It is managed by a past student of St Mary’s. SHOCC has been invited to fund one borehoile.

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