Our History
A meeting called by concerned parents in 1980 at Kentish Town Library turned into a problem solving exercise – looking at ways to address key issues affecting black children in Britain today. At the time large numbers of children and young people were leaving school or being permanently excluded with no qualifications or aspirations. A thought provoking discussion produced a list of issues, with a number of problems identified as the root cause of the problems. E.g. The educational system; Misunderstanding of needs of BME children and underlying racism.
Action was needed and fast. By working together and using the understanding and knowledge at their disposal it was felt that they could make a real difference to the community. Thus Camden Black Parents and Teachers Group was born, now known as the CarAf Centre.
There was and still is an emphasis on development through self help. Over the years the faces have changed but the motivations remain the same.
There have been many challenges along the way, funding and location being two of the biggest, but through strength of character and purpose the organisation has persevered, enabling them to make that difference to the lives of children and parents in and around the home town Camden and now London wide.
There are still plenty of challenges and many more people whose lives they haven’t been able to touch because of time or lack of resources and this will be the next challenge.
At lot has improved since 1980; however we still have a very significant problem of young people leaving school without achieving to their full potential. The CarAf Centre believe that the inability for young people completing their schooling and achieve, often results in lifetime social disadvantages, affecting health, employment, housing, quality of life and self esteem.
Today The CarAf Centre has a crucial role in contributing to Education Authority policies on raising achievement for Black minority ethnic children and disadvantage communities borough-wide and beyond. Our organisation offers the opportunity for a significant step forward for the delivery of educational services. It provides a mechanism for improved delivery of services which have cross-cutting outcomes and which make a real difference on the ground to local people. We are a strong and high profile organisation, which can add value to government and local educational provision in raising achievement for Black minority ethnic children and disadvantage children through our expertise and network of local contacts and beyond.
