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Empathy in A Time of Crisis – 10

Continuing our blog about this time of global crisis from the perspective of a voluntary team, taking each day as it comes. Thank you for reading.

Team Empathy Journal – Part 10

Over the last ten weeks we have written about how we’ve navigated this time of crisis. Some weeks we have focussed on the things we’ve done to keep busy – baking bread, Zoom calls and gardening. Other weeks have been more reflective as we’ve remembered those who are so much less fortunate, who live in a place where social distancing is impossible, food is scarce and the public health system unstable. We’ve launched our amazing Rainbow Campaign and we’ve been able to continue, albeit in a different format, spreading the message of empathy, solidarity and hope.

As we move slowly towards a new kind of normal, we asked our brilliant Team Empathy what they have taken from this time and what their hopes are for the future:

‘I’ve realised how much I love quiet time in the afternoon – in total opposition to my usual tearing about’

‘I’m no teacher and I’ve even more admiration for those who work to educate and care for our children every day.’

‘An increased appreciation of the changes in the seasons.’

‘Along with so many others, such huge respect for our NHS, carers and key workers.’

‘People need to actually see people! Whilst Zoom/FT/Skype/WhatsApp are fantastic – we’ve found having socially distant chats with people we’ve met whilst walking made us feel more alive.’

‘I’ve learned that it’s good to stop and think about what’s really important.’

‘Drawing closer to God has underpinned everything.’

‘I hope we can, as a world, go forward and not leave anyone behind, particularly the proverbial ‘least of these.’

‘I hope people can continue to be interested in and respectful of others.’

‘That the love, care and empathy that has been shown will continue.’

‘That this time of crisis, that has shown the strength of community and the need to stand together in solidarity, becomes the foundation for a new way of moving through the world, with connection and compassion at its centre.’

Stay in touch, keep connected and take care of yourselves – and others.

#chooseempathy #randomactsofkindness #radicalniceness

Empathy in a Time of Crisis

Team Empathy Journal: Part 1

We’ve talked before about the turbulent times we are living in. But the current COVID-19 crisis is different because it presents every single one of us with a new and unknown threat. Some regard it as being a great leveller for humanity. Which – in some ways – it is, and will continue to be as we suffer and recover and pull together.

However, we are aware that the most vulnerable people will inevitably be hit the hardest. Vulnerable groups of people in every corner of the world, to whom – for the months ahead – it will be harder than ever to offer practical help and support.

At Empathy Action, we are continuing to choose empathy and employ Radical Kindness in whatever way we can, even if it appears to be more limited in its scope. And – day by day – we are appreciating what we have, thinking constantly of our friends further away.

Here is what our volunteers are doing/saying this week:

“We are baking bread, sowing seeds, and walking in the sun. We are enjoying new Spring flowers and early morning birdsong.”

“I am grateful for the simple things in life.”

“We are taking a two metre orbit around others when out and about, ameliorating the physical alienness with a super wide smile and an unusually exuberant, ‘Hello!’”

“I am using what I have in the kitchen cupboards instead of buying more than I need – and gaining a small understanding of what others have to think about all the time.”

“We are in closer contact with old and new friends for the all important mutual encouragement and support.”

“I am slowing down and noticing things.”

“I am maintaining a sense of humour!”

“Loving hearing about random acts of kindness! Oh and doing them too!!”

“Starting the day with PE for Joe – it’s a great laugh!”

“Joe Wicks is causing me pain.”

“We are really enjoying having our adult children back home and staying with us (until further notice, it seems).”

“Well I never. It’s possible to do planned one mile walks in the house!” (and a marathon on a balcony.)

“We’d better stop pruning or we’ll have no plants left! Front garden got the attention today so also chatting with the neighbours, at a safe distance.”

“Taking comfort in Psalms 91:1-2.”

“Keeping an eye on the news to see how coronavirus will affect everyone – especially the most vulnerable – in the short and long term. And planning how best we can respond.”

Stay in touch, keep connected and take care of yourselves – and others.

#chooseempathy #randomactsofkindness #radicalniceness

Claire’s Empathy Lockdown Loaf

500g bread flour (I use half white/half whole meal spelt)
7g yeast
Tsp of sugar
1.5 tsp of salt
300ml of lukewarm water

1. Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl
2. Add the water to form a sticky dough.
3. Knead on a floured surface for 10-15 mins.
4. Place in a clean, light oiled bowl and cover with a damp tea towel.
5. Leave to rise for 2 hours in a warm place.
6. Take out of bowl and knead for approx 2 mins.
7. Place in a lightly oiled tin or on a baking tray.
8. Cover again and leave to rise for 1 hour.
9. Cook for 30 mins at 200 degrees Celsius.
10. Turn bread out of the tin and tap the bottom. If it sounds hollow, it’s done.
11. Eat incredibly quickly and make another one!

Desperate Journeys coming to Tunbridge Wells

Desperate Journeys is coming to Royal Victoria Place in Tunbridge Wells, from mid-February to the end of March 2019.

(UPDATE: Press Release: Desperate Journeys comes to Royal Victoria Place Tunbridge Wells)

‘Everyone should experience it’

‘You have definitely opened my eyes to this crisis’

‘An experience that will surely stay with me forever’

‘An inspired, thought-provoking experience’

The saying goes, “to understand another person, you must first walk a mile in their shoes.”

Desperate Journeys is a powerful immersive experience, designed by Empathy Action to increase people’s understanding of the global refugee crisis and build empathy with the 25.4 million refugees living in our world today.

Each ‘Journey’ can be made by up to 30 people at a time and lasts approximately 90 minutes, (there is also a 60 minute ‘Story’ version) including a reflective discussion at the end. Journeys will take place at set times during the opening hours of Royal Victoria Place, throughout the week and at weekends. We are offering the experience to schools, community groups, charities and businesses…in fact everyone who is interested! Our aim is to involve as many Tunbridge Wells people as possible, not just as participants, but also, we hope, in other ways.

Following a successful launch last year at Tonbridge Baptist Church, and further events held at Tonbridge Girls Grammar school and Sevenoaks School, we have seen a growing demand from groups wishing to experience Desperate Journeys, as well as our other empathy programmes.

* * * * * To book, click here * * * *

We need your help

Empathy Action must build its volunteer base to meet the demand. One of our main objectives in running Desperate Journeys this Spring is to grow our team in preparation for all that lies ahead. We have many opportunities for people to get involved, not just with Desperate Journeys, but with our wider work too. They include:

Joining the wonderful cast as an actor (no prior experience necessary!)
Joining our brilliant backstage team
Joining the super set-building team and helping transform empty spaces.
Helping with the hosting, promotion, marketing, ticketing and administration of our events.
Coming along with friends or family and taking the journey yourself.
Connecting Empathy Action with contacts of yours who may be interested in experiencing or hosting our empathy activities; whether they be schools, businesses, community groups, churches or other organisations or sponsors to help take it even further.

*(The Desperate Journeys experience is suitable for Year 6 and upwards)

Empathy Action is entirely made up of volunteers and we are always looking for regular volunteers (full-time or part-time) to grow the charity and to help us in our work of changing hearts and inspiring action in a hurting world.

To book, click here.

Alternatively, do get in touch and speak to us directly. We’d love to hear from you!

My Desperate Journey by Jenny Maslin

Part time EA administrator, full time singer, musician and teacher, Jenny Maslin

My name’s Jenny and I volunteer with Empathy Action as an administrator. Having sat through many staff meetings and heard all about the planning and preparations that have gone into creating our new simulation, I was excited (and a little nervous) to see what it was all about. I experienced Desperate Journeys as a participant during their launch week and co-founders Ben and Matt asked me to write about my experience…

I joined a group of 26 strangers from all different walks of life, none of us quite sure what to expect. We were welcomed by the simulation’s director, given a passport, some money and asked to remove our shoes before entering one of the seven marquee tents that housed the whole experience. From there the journey began as we were thrown into a situation where, as a group, we had to make multiple decisions for our group’s safety, under pressure and with limited information available. I won’t give any plot spoilers, but will focus instead on the two questions that were asked at the end:

‘What struck you?’ and ‘How did you feel?’

When not volunteering with Empathy Action, I work as a musician and teacher. Sound and silence are a big part of my life and would therefore naturally be a focus for me as I walked through the dark, maze-like set. I found myself making observations between the cleverly designed soundtrack that followed us and the feelings I was experiencing: joyful party music; incoming explosions; the harsh voices of soldiers as they burst in on us; pants, sobs and cries of fear from the actors; the heavy silence as our group sat in darkness on a dingy to Europe, listening to the stories of desperation from a fellow passenger; the subtle changes in music as we turned corners and faced new, improved or worsened situations. I was struck with a sense of powerlessness, swept up in a tide of sounds and people I’d just met, travelling to an unknown destination.

I felt frustrated by the lack of autonomy of group decisions, and could see parallels with the loss of freedom of choice a refugee would face. I felt loss when we heard that our host’s family home and street had been flattened, and grief too when the same family had to make the horrendous decision to separate when applying to relocate. Earlier that day I had been enjoying the first signs of spring, gardening in my quiet peaceful neighbourhood. I had exchanged texts with my sister who has chosen to spend 2 years in Australia as part of a secondment scheme. I miss her very much but know that she is safe and happy, will be returning this year, and that I can visit her without many of the bureaucratic hurdles we experienced in the simulation. These feelings were brought home further in a concluding and powerful speech from one of our volunteers, and a resettled refugee herself. Reem told us of her family’s struggle to flee her home country and resettle in the UK. They are still waiting for the remainder of her family to be granted asylum. Her story brought me to tears. I left the simulation in deep thought, humbled and very moved.

As we drew to a conclusion, we were told that there are 65.6 million people worldwide (a similar amount to the entire population of the UK) who have been forcibly displaced from their home: That’s around 1 in 100 of the world’s population. Refugees don’t start out as refugees. They are mothers, fathers, friends, colleagues, students, professionals… human beings just like us. We must engage with this world crisis and do what we can to help.

More accounts of Desperate Journeys:

“Desperate Journeys”, understanding the global refugee crisis through empathy

Empathy Action’s new Refugee immersive experience launches this week to help build understanding and action for the biggest humanitarian crisis since the second world war.

The UNHCR reports “we are now witnessing the highest levels of displacement on record. An unprecedented 65.6 million people around the world have been forced from home. Among them are nearly 22.5 million refugees, over half of whom are under the age of 18”.

As the saying goes, “to begin to really understand another human being, you first need to walk a mile in their shoes.” Empathy Action invites participants to do just that in this new live interactive experience.

“Desperate Journeys” explores the global refugee crisis by tracking the journey of a family forced from their home in a war torn country. It is a challenging piece based firmly on facts, first hand accounts and case studies to bring home to those taking part the human stories behind the headlines.

The experience is delivered within a maze-like set which we can assemble in a large hall or large marquee (at least 12×18 metres). It runs for 70 minutes as part of a 2 hour package delivered by the Empathy Action team, including briefing and a reflective feedback and discussion session. The experience is designed for up to 25 participants at a time, who will be guided through it by our cast members.

By running such simulations we aim to deepen understanding of the greatest refugee crisis since the Second World War and give rise to a heartfelt desire to take action.

To speak to us about “Desperate Journeys” or to book please contact us.

More on Desperate Journeys

Developing Desperate Journeys: Acknowledgements & credits

Journey’s End: getting involved after taking part in Desperate Journeys

Simulation FAQS

Desperate Journeys Launch (Jan 2018) Press Release