The community interest company will host its popular Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme four days a week for four weeks over the summer holidays. Children can come along to enjoy breakfast, lunch and healthy snacks, plus a range of fun activities.
Many of the youngsters attending will be in familiar surroundings. Divine Buzz hosts more than 100 children at St Paul’s Church, Bentham Road, every Tuesday and Thursday as part of its regular term-time programme. They come along to play sports, get tuition and take part in skills-building activities, all overseen by a team of 20 staff and volunteers. 
What started as a women’s exercise class during the Covid-19 pandemic has become a big operation. As lockdown eased, Ellen Otchere, Divine Buzz’s Managing Director, realised that many of the women from her classes suddenly had fresh childcare challenges to contend with.
A grant from Peabody’s Thamesmead Community Fund gave Ellen a solid foundation on which to maintain her women’s group while she launched children’s activities.
“The grant was what helped everything take off for us,” said Ellen. “We started the after-school club, which is free for everybody to attend. Children kept coming, then telling their friends at school, and more kept coming!”
The grant was topped up with funding from other organisations and modest fees from the women’s exercise classes, which enabled Ellen to buy sewing machines and other equipment.
From that platform, Divine Buzz secured five years’ funding from the National Lottery Community Fund.
“It has improved everything,” revealed Ellen. “It means we can help more families, but also pay people for their hard work instead of relying only on volunteers.”
Despite its impressive growth, Divine Buzz’s roots are never too far away. The women’s activities are still going strong, with weekly aerobics, swimming and sewing sessions, as well as social outings.
“We started to help women get out, get some exercise, form friendships, make connections and find jobs,” said Ellen. “Sometimes I’m walking down the street and I’ll see women together who I know met each other through Divine Buzz. I just smile to myself because I know how that friendship started.”
The good news is that the next generation of friendships are already starting to form.
“It's fun and you get to meet new friends," said Iradah Fasoro, aged 10, who attends the after-school club. “I like the sewing.”
“I’ve been coming for three or four years,” added 11-year-old Blessed Onubuike. “I like that we’re able to come outside and play basketball, skipping and hula-hoops. But I’ve also learnt new things in my maths and English.”
