Our Story

Springburn Unity Network (SUN) was founded in 2021 by Shawn Nicholas Fernandez and his mother, Mala Jayhindaran, both qualified Community Development practitioners who share a passion for building stronger, more inclusive communities. The organisation was born while they were studying Community Development at Glasgow Kelvin College, where they completed their HNC together. During their community placement in Springburn, they worked alongside local residents from diverse backgrounds, listening to people's lived experiences and identifying the challenges affecting the community. Through ongoing engagement, they heard recurring concerns around loneliness, poor mental health, social isolation, lack of confidence, and barriers preventing people from accessing opportunities and participating fully in community life.

Through community conversations, participatory activities, feedback sessions, and collective reflection, it became clear that the group they had established during their placement had evolved into a safe, supportive, and welcoming space that local people valued. Participants expressed a strong desire for the work to continue beyond the completion of the placement. Recognising this need, Shawn Nicholas Fernandez and Mala Jayhindaran established Springburn Unity Network as a community-led organisation dedicated to creating opportunities for connection, inclusion, and positive social change.

From its beginnings with just 15 members, Springburn Unity Network has grown into a thriving multicultural charity supporting more than 3,000 people across Springburn and the wider Glasgow area. The organisation continues to work in accordance with Community Learning and Development (CLD) values and principles, equality, inclusion, trauma-informed practice, the Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) approach, and Freirean praxis, ensuring that communities themselves remain at the centre of identifying needs, reflecting on challenges, and driving sustainable change.

SUN provides safe, welcoming, and inclusive spaces for children, young people, adults, older people, and anyone experiencing hardship, loneliness, or mental health challenges. The organisation believes that every individual possesses unique strengths, skills, knowledge, and potential. Rather than seeking to empower people, SUN creates the conditions in which individuals and communities can empower themselves through participation, learning, critical reflection, and collective action.

Its programmes include educational workshops, wellbeing activities, multicultural language classes, English Speaking Circles, volunteering opportunities, youth development programmes, community events, and initiatives that promote intercultural understanding and social cohesion. These activities aim to build confidence, develop practical skills, reduce isolation, and strengthen community connections.

Today, Shawn Nicholas Fernandez and Mala Jayhindaran continue to serve the community as qualified Community Development practitioners, leading Springburn Unity Network with compassion, professionalism, and a strong commitment to social justice. Over the years, the organisation has made a significant impact within the community and has received recognition through several community awards celebrating its contribution to community cohesion, inclusion, and grassroots development.

At the heart of Springburn Unity Network is a simple but powerful belief, although people come from different countries, cultures, languages, faiths, and lived experiences, communities become stronger when they are built on compassion, empathy, mutual respect, acceptance, and shared humanity. These values continue to guide the organisation's work, ensuring that every person is seen, heard, valued, and supported.

Springburn Unity Network stands as a testament to the power of community-led action, a story of unity, participation, self-determination, and hope, where people work together to create lasting change.