People come to FAN for a wide range of reasons.
Many FAN participants are learning English and many are older people looking for a friendly, safe place to meet up for good conversation. While some people come because they are experiencing challenges in their lives, others come because life is going well and they are happy to share support and conversation.
A huge strength of FAN groups is the way it brings people together who are different, and enables them to find out what they have in common, to break down barriers and to enable cross cultural communication.
You can read more about some of our FAN friends on this website.
What good things come from being part of a FAN Group?
- I have made new friends – I feel less lonely
- I have met interesting new people from different backgrounds
- I have been able to share my local knowledge with people new to the area
- I generally feel pretty cheerful, and am glad to lend a hand to others who are going through tough times
- I feel more confident speaking in public now – people in FAN are supportive listeners
- I have had the chance to practise speaking English with native speakers – outside of my class
- I have been able to share my story, people listened – it has helped to make me feel more human
- I have found out about the local area and culture – and people were really interested in my culture too
- I have met with so many friendly people – I feel much more at home now