About Us

PEACEMAKER INTERNATIONAL PROJECT is a community-based family support organisation that gives a solid foundation to a wide range of self-help/capacity-building activities for vulnerable people, including the elderly, unemployed, and people with disabilities.

After 13 years of operation, The Peacemakers matched with Bradford Women In Safe (WISH) to form Peacemaker International Project (PIP), and registered as a charity in 2012. PIP in collaboration with WISH aims to promote the safety and security of women and children through community-based crisis intervention, long-term approach, empowerment as well as working with other agencies to address underlined factors to gender-based violence. The organisation is dedicated to reducing gender-based abuse (including forced and early marriage, honour killings, trafficking, female genital mutilation (FGM), domestic sexual violence).

We offer a variety of specialist services for vulnerable families and local communities, including adopting an active role in partnership working, in supporting and advocating for the needs of women and children. As a family-support organisation, we are built around an all-inclusive or all-encompassing service.

The origin of PIP was a charity established for the advancement of conflict resolution through mediation services, training, and support with the view to furthering racial harmony, equality, and. Very simply, we had a vision for a safer, better, and more prosperous community and have taken action to accomplish it; snowballing into holistic community-based projects which break barriers every year.

Our project activities are divided into the following two major areas:

1. Social and welfare community-based family support, embracing:
   • Women in Safe Hands programme which supports survivors and victims of domestic abuse and sexual violence and children who have witnessed cruelty to enable them to get over the mental trauma that usually follows the family breakup. This aspect of our work also includes Children and Young People’s (CHYP) Engagement Programme
   • Support for the elderly with befriending and people with disabilities who are lonely and isolated to socialise with other people in the community in our regular group meetings
   • Support for Asylum Seekers and Refugees
2. Career Support Training for Job Seekers which provides work experience to facilitate employment or able to start their own businesses. It helps to increase self-esteem and improves individual’s confidence which will enhance their employability.

Considering our long years of existence as an organisation and our resources, we are qualified to deliver the projects at hand. Our charitable activities were started in 1998 by two people with an unshakeable passion for helping people.

It all started with research on the ‘extent of domestic abuse amongst black people’ which was followed later with support for the elderly, children, and young people, eventually leading to the establishment of THE PEACEMAKERS and BRADFORD WOMEN IN SAFE HANDS (B-WISH).

Both matched to form PEACEMAKER INTERNATIONAL, registered as a charity in 2012. We are part of the community we are serving, and we understand them.

Our Chief Executive Officer/General Project Coordinator has over 30 years’ experience in the public, private and voluntary sector. She has BA Hons in Peace Studies, MA in Women Studies, an ex-teacher in primary and secondary schools, also have qualification in training the trainer which qualifies her to teach children and adults. She is responsible for day-to-day management of the project. She has track record in providing leadership and skills development training and ensures high performance. She is knowledgeable and experienced in women’s issues and different types of advocacy. In 2018 she was on the Queen’s Birthday Honour list for an MBE. The award was given for her Services to Community Cohesion and to Women and Girls’ Rights.

Our Project/Financial Admin is a professional linguist, with a doctorate degree in Language and Linguistic Science. He used to be a lecturer before joining Peacemaker International and has been in the voluntary sector since 1992. He is a good trainer, including the wraparound training and supervision. The compilation of the learning scheme and materials are his handiwork, based on a framework designed through research and training.

The chair of trustees is a retired nurse with over 40 years’ experience in both public, private and community development. She has a good knowledge in project planning, policy, management and financial management and has knowledge of dealing with vulnerable women. Other trustees possess university degrees in their various specialisations which include Psychology and Health and Social care with ample experience of supporting vulnerable people. In addition, we have dedicated and committed volunteers.

We have recently enlisted a graduate of ILM level 5 coaching and mentoring who’s also a MCMI, chartered management institute with experience of working in large and small companies on personal development. He has designed a program in the private sector, workshop on winning workplace habits, personal development plans and zoom coaching sessions.

We strive for the best quality in every aspect of our operations, using the skills, experiences and commitment of those involved.

Our support is free and non-judgmental, opened to everyone in the community regardless of ethnicity, faith, or race. Our focus is whole family approach to improve mental, emotional and physical wellbeing.

Project delivery faced serious challenges that nobody had planned for. We moved from a physical service location to remote support via telephone and social media.

• This uncertainty had made budgeting unrealistic. We used our reserves and savings to buy handsets/tablets to enable end-to-end interactions with clients at risk.
• All the funds we would have gleaned from different projects, including summer events, are not forthcoming. As we are a project-oriented organisation, it is no projects, no money.
• Unable to hold summer events, including family fun day, cultural, religious, and social celebrations, where we used to bring families together to improve social interaction are not possible this year.
• Businesses could not donate much of their products to save lives.
• Government’s plans have affected our plans which, in due course, affected our clients.
• We also needed more money because of an increase in the number of clients and a new way of working leading to an overload of work.
• Many things were done at an extra cost because those volunteers and paid staff who worked at home had to ask for money to pay for data usage.
• Many staff and volunteers were not available to work because their homes were not conducive to what we were doing, e.g. those with small children who should be with their parents 24 hours;
• Computer for training was not available in some homes where their children struggled with
• Some staff and volunteers were allowed to take laptops home but since we could not provide for everyone, we just limited ourselves to what was available.
• We added distribution of food parcels to some families of our service users which increased our travel expenses. This one continues until now as Household Food Supplies sponsored by Bradford Council.
• CHYP we often engage and feed during the holidays could not come together.

For the past one year, things have begun to change. We held our Youth Engagement programme as Summer Holiday Activities this year and Support Training for Job Seekers is now in earnest.

PUBLICITIES OF CURRENT PROGRAMME:

1. Flyer for ESF/Groundwork Fund
2. Summer Holiday Activities
3. Household Support Project (food parcel images)