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Urras Coimhearsnachd Bhradhagair Agus Arnoil
- Membership number 4556
- Charity registered in Scotland SC044094
Urras Coimhearsnachd Bhràdhagair agus Àrnoil (UCBA), the Bragar and Arnol Community Trust, is based on the Isle of Lewis, the most northerly part of the Outer Hebrides, in the north west of Scotland. UCBA’s main aim is to make Bragar and Arnol a more attractive place to live and work in for local people, by providing social, health and wellbeing, cultural and artistic activities in our own area.We belong to a beautiful place, which has, historically, been deprived of basic services for the local population. The school, the post office, the elderly day care centre and the nursery all closed. There was no hall or community centre, so UCBA, working in tandem with the whole community, bought and renovated the village school, renaming it Grinneabhat. Grinneabhat has changed that negative experience into something positive. The community now has a social and cultural space, services, learning opportunities and employment – we have taken charge of our own destiny as much as possible. Trustees and staff all live in and love the local area and understand the culture and history of the place.UCBA, through Grinneabhat, provides the community with a place where they can socialise and take part in activities together. Grinneabhat provides services for the elderly, clubs for children and young people, artistic and cultural activities for everyone, and employment. In urban areas, multiple organisations would probably be involved in delivering these varied services, however in this very rural area UCBA is the only organisation trying to deliver these activities.UCBA also reaches out to the people in our community affected by poverty, particularly with the provision of food but also through offering friendship and a listening ear. We are often the only group offering this type of help in our community. Using mainly volunteers, supplemented at various times by project workers, between 2014 and the present we have run a large range of activities including:• Grinneabhat venue open five days a week (including Saturday) providing community spaces, an exhibition and a café where people can meet and socialise• Weekly coffee mornings• Weekly classes such as fitness, children’s groups, etc• Regular community events, talks, concerts, etc• Knitting group• Gaelic learner and conversation groups• Bi-monthly exhibitions• Spring to autumn vegetable growers club• FareShare food boxes• Ebike loans• Honesty shop for local produce• A place where the local Alzehiemers and groups who help with learning, physical and mental health disabilities can meet• Venue for health checks and delivery of prescriptions
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