Spanish Language and Networking
Social isolation, depression and mental health issues that are common within the Latinx community. The primary goal of the Spanish Language and Network project was to address and tackle that. In order to do so, Christian, Vladimir, Zaida and Jacqueline ran eight mini programmes: English from Zero, Painting in English, English for Work, Improve Your Job Conditions, English for Women Empowerment, Get to Know Your GP in English, English for 50+ years, and Yoga for over 50.
All sessions were aimed at the Latinx community, in particular to those who wanted to improve their language skills and build further confidence in their communities. Cristian was the project lead, with Vladimir, Zaida and Jacqueline supporting the delivery. You can find the full list of projects at the end of this article.
Why did you think your project was important to address health and wellbeing in your community?
There is a large Latinx community in Southwark, with many struggling to engage or participate due to language barriers. Levels of isolation are high, especially among senior citizens who make up a large part of the community. This project intended to fill those gaps, and reach a wide range of individuals across all demographic groups and ages.
Many of the sessions were run at Age UK in Southwark as this was considered a central hub spot for many. We worked with over 200 students and delivered over 120 hours of lessons. As a result, we learnt the importance of this project in bringing communities together whilst also tackling issues related to language barriers.
What's something that's surprised you in this process?
We gained invaluable insights from delivering these sessions, with over 100 survey responses highlighting their impact. People expressed a strong desire to continue learning - and beyond enhancing their English skills, the sessions fostered joy, connection, and a sense of belonging. Notably, 76% of participants reported feeling significantly less socially isolated, while over 80% experienced improved well-being as a result of the classes. Additionally, many members of the delivery team developed deeper connections with their community, creating a meaningful and unexpected reciprocal relationship.
What change would you like to see so that more people can be empowered to make decisions on the issues that affect them?
One of the most valuable lessons we learned in this process was the importance of deep listening—not just to understand the community’s wants and needs, but to actively build trust, particularly within underrepresented groups like the Latinx community. Establishing trust was essential in fostering open, honest feedback, which in turn allowed us to refine and improve the sessions effectively. Moving forward, we hope to see more funders adopt a trust-based approach, not only in their partnerships with community organisations but, crucially, in their direct engagement with communities themselves. True impact comes from taking the time to build meaningful, long-term connections in the areas they seek to support.
This project existed out of multiple sub-projects, each geared towards micro-communities within the Latino community in Walworth:
English from Zero: A joint project delivered by Cristian and Vladimir who provided the Latin community with foundational language skills, empowering them to communicate confidently and integrate more easily into English-speaking environments.
Painting in English: Delivered by Cristian, the Painting in English project has empowered the Latin community by combining art and language learning, fostering creativity while enhancing English proficiency in an engaging and supportive environment.
English for Work - Improve your job conditions: Vladimir ran sessions for the Latino community focussed on supporting the empowerment of transferable skills. There was a strong focus on both personal and professional attributes.
English for Women Empowerment: These sessions delivered by Cristian were focussed on advancing the confidence on women and supporting to empower their skills
Get to Know your GP: Cristian also delivered the Get to Know Your GP in English project has helped the Latin community navigate healthcare more confidently by improving their English skills and understanding of medical services.
English for 50+ : The English for 50 project has provided tailored language education for the Latin community's older adults, empowering them to communicate confidently and stay actively engaged in English-speaking environments.
Yoga for over 50: Due to popular demand, Cristian and Vladimir were able to find budget for this activity (not in their original proposal). These wellbeing sessions combined physical activity with learning direct English.