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The Friends of Linda SmithProjects
The Friends of Linda Smith is an organisation, that has been set up to carry out projects and activities in the UK and abroad. It is not formally a charity but has charitable objectives. The intentions are to undertake programmes of work that are to do with Linda’s various likes, interests and passions; projects that she would have approved of and to keep her name a living memory. Linda was committed to assisting several causes which she came across in her private and public life. Her friends are trying to raise money in order to support a range of projects which reflect Linda’s interests across the spectrum of popular culture and international relations. Here are the most significant projects that are under way now. Project 1 TIGRAY
Linda had a long term relationship with Tigray in northern Ethiopia. We have identified an orphanage called Wukro, that provides shelter, care and education for children who are the victims of civil war and the ravages of HIV /AIDS. So far we have connected the village to the mains water supply. One aspect of life in the village was graphically described to us. During the day the children work in the field and ‘go to the toilet’ where they please. At night they are frightened to stray far from the dormitories and so ‘go to the toilet’ outside but close to the buildings. We are currently examining drawings with a view to having latrines built adjoining the dormitories, which will have an enormous impact on the village. Currently the kitchen is at a very basic level.
Food for the children is prepared on open stoves, fuelled by dried cow dung, belching smoke into the enclosed kitchen area, which has only a square hole in the ceiling as ventilation. We are looking to build a new kitchen block, with running water, with stoves fuelled by a form of bio-gas conversion. Project 2 Cortonwood Comeback Community Centre
Rifts in the community from the days of the miners’ strike still grumble along and so we are currently supporting a social inclusion project with people from the village. They have taken over a de-consecrated Methodist chapel and completely refurbished it. The Cortonwood Comeback Community Centre, as it now is, opened in late October 2007 after a year of work both to the building and a very considerable effort to set up a range of activities that will be conducted in and from the building to promote community cohesion. They have carried out a consultation exercise to identify the needs of the community and, with financial support from Friends of Linda Smith, set up a community arts and drama project for the residents of Brampton and the surrounding area to produce quality arts and media products and performances that are both affordable and accessible celebrating diversity and to reflect local, individual and community issues. Project 3 STRATFORD CIRCUS SATURDAY CLUB Linda was committed to making the arts as accessible as possible. With that in mind we have developed a project jointly with Stratford Circus, in the east end of London to help stimulate cultural activity in the area.
As part of the Up Front East programme we have developed The Saturday Club which is an intergenerational, cross art form, performance event giving exposure to emerging artists. We have provided a creative laboratory for the diverse community from the surrounding area. It takes place on the first Saturday of October, November and December to start with but the structure is going to be retained and will go into Stratford Circus’ next year programme. Want to donate? see donations |
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Linda had a very strong connection to South Yorkshire, particularly areas affected by the closure of the pits in the early 1980s. One such was Cortonwood outside Sheffield in Brampton Bierlow. She had first worked there with local youth in 1984 running drama and video activities. 
The project sits at the heart of the Stratford Circus vision to serve its local communities, promoting diversity, participation and artistic excellence. It is a partnership project with all the partner organisations within Stratford Circus itself. 