Bereavement and Mediation
At African Family Support Foundation, we offer a number of support services to assist people and families from an African background.
Bereavement support
Bereavement causes great shock to individuals and families – even if the death of a loved one is not unexpected – it can be extremely difficult to deal with. Although every individual experiences this differently, there are methods of support that have been proven to help.
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African Family Support Foundation was originally established by 4 widows, who having experienced bereavement themselves, are well placed to provide advice and guidance to widows and widowers, and any members of the community who have been bereaved.
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Our unique understanding of African family life and cultural practices means that we understand exactly what people are going through – and the best ways to offer help and guidance.
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The assistance that we provide is both emotional and practical. We know how difficult it can be to adjust to the death of a loved one, so we provide compassion and support.
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We also help with practical assistance by signposting to relevant organisations – to provide counselling or other types of help and advice. We also support individuals and families with financial help where this is needed.
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Mediation
African Family Support Foundation provides specialist mediation support to help African families to settle disputes amicably and to the satisfaction of all. We believe that there has historically been a gap in service provision for African families in the UK and this was one of the motivators for the establishment of our organisation.
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What is mediation?
Mediation involves two parties making decisions with the support of a neutral, impartial third party. The mediation process gets both sides together, and empowers parties who have disputes to come to arrangements on their own.
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Our mediation work
Most of the mediation work that we do is for African families. Disputes can be about any issue related to family matters and we aim to help in a way that avoids legal intervention which can be time consuming and costly. Our aim is to establish a practical way to find a resolution.
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We receive referrals from charities, Local Authorities and African High Commissions, as well as other organisations which need to call upon our expert help and support. We add value to the process with our deep understanding of African cultures and how they address family disputes and other issues such as what they understand to constitute good parenting. Our support is tailor-made for each African family that we work with and is in line with the practices of their specific culture.
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This specialist knowledge allows our mediators to bring a special level of in-depth knowledge and understanding to the families that they help.
We also have our Volunteer Youth Ambassadors who are good role models from all walks of life from Medical Doctors to Musicians, Lawyers, Accountants, Engineers and IT Specialists. They will engage with the youths in the community and family to resolve family dispute as they will be able to speak their language while we engage with the parents. They will help to address the confusion faced by some of our African youths in UK in confronting with both cultures and how they can benefit from both cultures to be a good citizen.
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If you are in need of bereavement support or mediation services, please get in touch and we will be happy to help.
