Multi-Cultural Family Base (MCFB)

We are a social work organisation that believes in early intervention. This means working with children and families before problems/issues become entrenched. We work to support children and parents dealing with important transition points – this can be the birth of a child, the move into primary school or the move to Edinburgh for families who are new migrants. We help children and families deal with issues of identity, loss, displacement and trauma. We know it is important that all children develop a sense of belonging and purpose in their lives. We work in partnership with families, listening to their views and adapting our practice to these views.

We believe passionately about issues of diversity. We work with families from a wide range of different communities, many of whom are deemed to be ‘hard-to-reach’. We want to break down stereotypes and challenge prejudices. We want a society that welcomes difference and diversity and we will advocate for families when they experience unfair discrimination. In the words of Ghandi himself: ‘no culture can survive if it attempts to be exclusive’.

We believe in listening carefully to children’s experiences and views, and we value the importance of direct work with children. We believe that play is a crucial component of children’s lives and that an ability to play is a sign of positive health for children and also for adults. We value group work as a powerful tool for change and believe that groups can help children and adults find commonalities, a sense of belonging and community.

We believe in a community development approach. All of our projects have started as small pilot projects built upon a perceived or known need from working in partnership with families and other agencies. We will continue to develop new projects in response to expressed needs. We want to offer a service to families that affords time, respect, voice and understanding in often complex and difficult situations.