Our Mission
- Empower people in deprived communities to succeed in life.
- Help them identify, develop and deploy their skills.
- Encourage them to give back to their communities and society in general.
- Foster Community inclusion and adhesion.
I find that equipping people with Online basic computer skills is liberating and empowering. It enables job seekers to search for jobs on-line.
It opens up access to the wealth of information, knowledge and training available online to all users, particularly the less well educated, socially disadvantaged, and hard to reach individuals.
Acquisition of basic IT skills/knowledge engenders new found confidence in people otherwise lacking self-belief. In short it is life changing when people are able to obtain employment after their training or develop new interests or go on to further education.
Click here to view the testimonies
About the founder of MFC
Founder Victoria Rodney came from a humble background, and promised herself that her children would have more than she did – particularly in terms of their education. She made Friday night homework night at her house and made sure she was supporting their school work. Soon both teachers and her children’s friends were noticing the difference and friends started coming home on a Friday night to get Victoria’s help too. As a result of Victoria’s commitment to her children’s education, they all graduated from university and are now working in professional positions.
With support from the school, some old textbooks and Victoria’s home computer, homework night became homework club. Soon the parents wanted to see what was going on as well, because many didn’t have English as a first language and didn’t know anything about IT. The Mercy Foundation Centre (MFC) began to take shape, and Victoria’s house was no longer big enough to house everyone who wanted to learn.
In response, Victoria re-mortgaged her house after working with Richmond Council for many years, and moved Mercy Foundation Centre to a building on the Kambala Estate near Clapham Junction. She spent the money on refurbishment and more computers, and in 2010 MFC became a UK online centre supported by The Tinder Foundation – see
http://www.tinderfoundation.org/ MFC is City and Guilds Accredited for Online Basics Award.
Four years on and there are now six graduate volunteers helping Victoria, and a second centre in Twickenham. All 18 former volunteers who have worked with MFC have secured employment. MFC has found that equipping people with basic computer skills is liberating and empowering. It enables job seekers to search for jobs on-line. It opens up access to the wealth of information, knowledge and training available online to all users, particularly the less well educated, socially disadvantaged, and hard to reach individuals.