Southern Women’s Aid Network (SWAN) is a UK registered charity (1188649) which was founded by Saiqa Ali BEM and is led and operated by women. SWAN has been operating since 2012 in London and has been a recognised provider of food support via the foodbank it runs for South  London Islamic Centre for the past 9 years. Since the Covid19 pandemic it has responded to the needs of the community by working in collaboration with other grassroot organisations; to  provide doorstep food packs to vulnerable individuals and families across London. SWAN has  also been providing aid to refugees in Greece since 2018 and works in partnership with other charities  to reach struggling families  in wartorn and poverty stricken countries abroad. 

Since the Covid19 restrictions in March 2020 started, SWAN has provided hundreds of food packs to vulnerable families and served thousands of meals from our weekly soup kitchens and through homeless outreach initiatives in London. Furthermore, through our Refugee outreach project we have provided everything from baby milk to bicycles to refugees around London. We have also provided food and essential items to women and their children who have suffered domestic violence and are living in refuges. 

Our relief efforts abroad have provided essential aid to countless families in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bosnia, Lebanon, Yemen, Greece, Azerbaijan and Palestine. Our Bread project in Lesvos, Greece has provided a minimum of 3000 flatbreads every week to refugees who often have nothing else to eat. 

We have also coordinated van loads of aid for Syrian refugees and have implemented the installation of 11 water pumps and provided microfinance business grants to families in Pakistan to encourage lasting change.