Table of Contents
Highlights and News
Newsletter
Diversity Resource International
February 2026
Editor's Note
Diversity Resource International (DRI) has continued to grow over the past few months. From exciting celebrations such as DRI’s 21st Anniversary, to goodbyes to a valued member of the DRI team, the last three months have been a rollercoaster of events.
If you are a regular reader, you may notice that this February edition of our Newsletter has a new author. Our new Digital Marketing Coordinator, Nadia Koch, is excited to take over the reins from Amanda, our previous writer, and carry on the formidable work of informing and educating our readers.
We will remain open to new collaborations and hope to include a wider range of voices in future editions. If you’d like to contribute a feature, please email us at comms@driorg.com.
Wishing you a happy read,
Nadia Koch
Communications Officer, DRI
Highlights and News
DRI Awarded Lloyds Bank Foundation's Racial Equity Grant
We are incredibly honoured to be the recipients of 2025 Lloyds Bank Foundation’s Racial Equity Grant!
This grant offers us funds for 3 years (2025-2028) and reflects funder trust in DRI’s ability to work towards empowerment of ethnic minorities.
The Lloyds Bank Foundation grant helps DRI to move beyond short-term, reactive work and focus on strengthening our core services, while we continue to build trusted relationships and provide culturally appropriate support to people facing intersecting challenges.
Ultimately, with this grant, we hope to amplify the voices of ethnic minority communities, using insight from our direct work to influence local decision-makers and create positive social change.
Lloyds Bank Foundation for England and Wales are an independent charitable foundation funded by Lloyds Banking Group. They work in partnership with small and local charities, people and communities, changing lives and working towards a more just and compassionate society. Through unrestricted funding, support to develop, and influencing policy and practice they help small and local charities thrive, communities grow stronger, and people overcome complex issues and barriers so they can transform their lives.
DRI Celebrates its 21st Anniversary
On the 22nd December, DRI celebrated its 21st Anniversary.
For 21 years, DRI has stood alongside ethnic minority communities, championing equity, dignity and opportunity.
DRI recognised by Active Sussex for Inclusion and Diversity
We are thrilled to be recognised as a Runner-Up at the Active Sussex Awards for Inclusion and Diversity.
Active Sussex’s prestigious Sport & Physical Activity Awards took place at the Sussex County Cricket Club on the 27th November. The awards celebrate “the individuals, clubs and organisations making a real difference through sport and physical activity across the county.”
This acknowledgment highlights the importance of our ongoing efforts to break down barriers, expand access and foster inclusive participation in sport and physical activity.
We are honoured to be nominated for this award alongside so many inspiring organisations and individuals from across Sussex.
Congratulations to all fellow finalists and winners across all categories!
Signing up to the East Sussex VCSE Alliance: Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Charter
As part of our continued commitment to the East Sussex VCSE Alliance Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Charter—a shared commitment to making our organisations more inclusive, fair and accessible for everyone we work with and support.
DRI signed up to their EDI Charter in December 2025. Our newly appointed Director, Barbara Harris is leading on this, due to her previous EDI experience. Over the coming months we will be reviewing all of our policies and processes to ensure that we continue to deliver the most equitable of services to our staff and communities that we serve
What’s Involved?The Charter outlines six key actions we’re encouraged to adopt as best practice, or work towards:
- Board Leadership – Appoint a board-level EDI lead.
- Staff Voice – Run annual engagement activities to include staff perspectives in decision-making.
- Policy Review – Keep EDI policies up to date with regular reviews.
- Client Data – Monitor client demographics to improve access and inclusion.
- EDI Strategy – Consider developing a formal EDI strategy.
- Partnerships – Build links with specialist organisations that can provide insights to improve our understanding and practices.
Sitting alongside these principles are templates, guides and resources to support each action; the Alliance EDI Oversight Group is also available to offer support along the way and will also be seeking training opportunities.
As a signatory, we’re part of a community dedicated to change, with the opportunity to share best practice, promote our involvement, and proudly display that we’ve committed to the EDI Charter logo. Together, we aim for all 26 current Alliance organisations to sign up—so we can build a more inclusive East Sussex, from the inside out.
To find out more visit the website here.
For more information you can also contact the Alliance. To get in touch please:
Call: 01323 403590 Email: esvcsealliance@escv.org.uk
Care for the Carers Grant Continues
We are happy to announce that our funding for Care for the Carers will continue to 2026/2027!
Care for the Carers is a long-established charity that provides information, advice and support services (including carers groups) across East Sussex.
Through this partnership, we help deliver a supplementary network of peer support specifically tailored for carers from diverse communities. We have seven Carer peer support groups across East Sussex, which meet monthly for community support.
These peer support groups are designed for unpaid carers from ethnically diverse communities who:
- Look after someone (family member, friend or neighbour) who can’t manage without their support.
- Might experience additional barriers to support services because of language, culture or lack of representation.
The aim is to create a space where carers can meet others with similar experiences and share understanding, and access information about other services available locally. Some activities include wellness sessions (e.g., hand massage events), group walks, creative activities and cultural gatherings.
If you’re a carer interested in joining one of these groups, email us at community@driorg.comor call/ WhatsApp us on 07586 340592
Saying Goodbye to our Communications Officer
At the end of November 2025, Amanda Silva stepped down from her role as Communications Officer at DRI.
She joined the team in August 2023 beginning her Digital Marketing Apprenticeship at DRI / Vandu Languages. Once completed, she remained as a part-time Communications Officer.
We are grateful for the dedication and creative input she bought to the organisation. In addition to her contribution to DRI’s social media pages and website, Amanda delivered workshops on Social Media Essentials for Small Businesses and Community Organisation, as well as presentations on Women’s Walks Project.
Amanda parted ways with DRI saying:
"Thank you for giving me the opportunity to work alongside a team of caring, passionate, and hard-working people. I had amazing experiences at DRI, and even though it was time for me to move on, I will keep a space to hold these last two years dearly in my heart.”
We wish Amanda all the success in her career. At DRI, we remain committed to upholding the professionalism and building on the media foundations she helped to develop.
To carry forward DRI’s important work, we welcome Nadia Koch.
Nadia is of Polish nationality and grew up in Belgium. She moved to the UK in 2020 to enrol in university.
Her educational accomplishments include graduating with a Distinction for Media Practice for Development and Social Change at University of Sussex. She completed her bachelor’s in arts at University of Hertfordshire with a Year Abroad in Canada.
We are excited to have Nadia onboard and are looking forwards to continue growing our outreach.
Get Involved
Community Walking Group - Active Rother
We are organising a Community Walking Group as a response to ongoing requests from men within the Bexhill Mosque community who wish to increase their physical activity and reduce barriers to accessing health-enhancing activities.
The Walk builds upon DRI’s successful women’s walking group, which includes 56 members, 10 of whom have received walking-leader training from Active Sussex.
As with the women’s group, the men’s walking group aims to reduce isolation, build confidence, and support wider engagement with the natural environment in and around Rother.
Walking Roots - High Weald
Walking Roots is a series of inclusive eco-systemic walking sessions designed to foster connection with nature, wellbeing, and cultural belonging for ethnically diverse individuals, particularly those experiencing isolation, migration-related stress, or disconnection from the High Weald landscape.
Taking place within accessible green spaces near the High Weald landscape, these sessions will blend gentle nature walks, grounding exercises, ecotherapy-inspired reflection, and cultural exchange through storytelling and art.
Peace Survey
On behalf of the Lewes Active Peace Group and Lewes Climate Hub, we are inviting people across Sussex to take part in this short survey about what peace means in everyday life. In the context of recent events across the country and in our region, we want to better understand how people are experiencing safety, belonging, and freedom- both individually and within their communities. We are interested in a wide range of lived experiences and perspectives.
This survey is not about judging views or promoting a particular position. Its purpose is to listen, reflect, and learn, so that community‑led efforts to strengthen peace, dignity, and coexistence in Sussex can be better informed.
Quarterly Spotlight
Interfaith Week Festival
Our Services and Projects Coordinator, Anna Wang attended the Interfaith Week Festival event on the 15th November, for Hastings and Rother Interfaith Forum with the Women’s Interfaith Network.
The programme included a Ukrainian Choir, Suganya and South Indian Dancers, Jewish Songs, Filipino Songs, poetry and speeches about international experiences.
Sussex Friendship Bench Stakeholder Webinar
Our Friendship Bench project is a stepped-care psychological intervention, based on principles of cognitive behaviour therapy, which is delivered by trained community members.
The project was inspired by the research and development of Friendship Bench by Prof Dixon Chibanda who founded Friendship Bench at the University of Zimbabwe and London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM).
The purpose of the Sussex Friendship Bench Stakeholder Webinar was to update stakeholders on the progress and early insights from the Sussex Friendship Bench pilot. It also served as a collaborative space to bring together our collective expertise, resources, and perspectives to explore practical ways of turning the shared vision for a Friendship Bench programme in Sussex into a sustainable reality.
- East Sussex County Council Community Mental Health Team
- East Sussex County Council Public Health Team
- Local GP from Brighton
- Prof Dixon Chibanda, founder of Friendship Bench Zimbabwe
- Dr. Moitree Banerjee, Head of School of Law, Business and Psychology at Chichester University
- Robel Ghirmay, Eritrean Community Organisation, London
- Yaa Asare and Mebrak Ghebreweldi, DRI Directors
A special thank you to Prof Chibanda for joining us and contributing to the discussion about how we can take Friendship Bench forward in the UK.
Seahaven FM Radio Interview
On the 20th January, our team manager, Tacye Turner, and carer group Facilitator, Manal Ahmed, appeared on Community People Seahaven FM Radio with Kathy Harding.
It was an honour to sit down with Kathy and talk about DRI’s mission and our Care for the Carers programme. It was a chance to change narratives on ethnic minority communities and healthcare, amplify lived experience and remind the world that carers deserve care, recognition and equitable support too.
And between conversation, Tacye selected her favourite and most meaningful songs to be played across East Sussex!
Men's Health Meeting
On 14 January our Research Fellow Mudasir Amin represented DRI at the Men’s Health Meeting of the community voices group convened by the Bridging Change.
This event brought together decision makers and service providers from UOK, NHS Sussex Mental Health Services, Brighton & Hove City Council, Act on Cancer, and Macmillan Cancer Support. The event offered valuable insights into current priorities in men’s health and created opportunities for partnership building. Mudasir was also able to connect with several organisations for potential future collaboration, particularly the Macmillan Horizon Centre in Brighton.
Our Team
Mebrak Ghebreweldi
Founder, Director and Facilitator
Dr Yaa Asare
Founder, Director and Facilitator
Barbara Harris
Director
Tacye Turner
Projects and Services Manager
Aabha
Community Research and Impact Lead
Dr Mudasir Amin
Research Coordinator
Anna Wang
Projects and Services Coordinator
Nadia Koch
Digital Marketing Coordinator
Alejandra González
Community Interpreting Course Coordinator
Aaron Clarke
Consultant and Facilitator
Contact Us
- Website: www.driorg.com
- Phone, Message or WhatsApp: 07586 340 592
- Email: community@driorg.com
Follow us on social media:
Special Thanks
