5 Minutes with Markella Christofi, Equality Fund Chair

Markella is a member and Chair of the Equality Fund panel. The Equality Fund will be launched this year to provide funding for charities and social enterprises who support women, young people and families, care leavers, people from BAME communities, people from the LGBTQ+ communities and disabled people. She is a keen Camden resident who advocates for a positive change in the borough.

Photo by Sam Lane

How long have you lived in Camden?

I have lived in Camden all my life; I’ve spent the best part of my 35 years here. All my schools and college were in the borough and today I am still a Camden resident.

From your time in Camden has there been any significant events of inequality that come to mind?

I was quite shocked to hear about the incident in summer 2019, where two women were attacked on a night bus in Camden for being an openly gay couple. I’m London born and bred and up till then I’d never really felt threatened but when you hear something like that, it makes you question the assumptions you have about your community... Nobody should feel unsafe here, let alone in my borough that I love.

Do you think people in Camden are aware of the high level of inequality that exists in the borough?

I definitely think it is visible and people are aware... but it is a superficial awareness. Most people don’t really know what it means to grow up in inequality unless they’ve lived it or touched it first hand. I remember becoming more aware of this in secondary school - seeing first hand the youth workers and after-school projects designed to keep young people off the streets In the hopes that it would prevent them from going astray.

Could you share your favourite Camden memory?

There’s plenty of Camden memories, for me there is no better place to be in London. Coming from an immigrant family, I value the multicultural interactions that makeup Camden life. I remember we used to BBQ every Sunday with our neighbours – us with our Greek souvla and our neighbours with their Jamaican jerk chicken, sharing food over our balconies! The community made it what it was.

Another fond memory was bumping into Amy Winehouse at a pool hall in Camden on a lunch break. That was pretty cool but that’s Camden, you never know who you could bump into on any “normal” day.

What interested you about the panellist role?

You know the past year has highlighted so much... just to be happy, healthy and with your family is such a privilege. I guess this year has reminded us all of how precious one’s community is and I am keen to contribute in whichever small way I can.

I came across Camden Giving and after reading further on the work they do, I was incredibly motivated to join them in their work – especially for the fact that they use participatory grant giving. One of the things I admire the most is that the board encourages Camden residents to collectively decide where the funding goes.

What impact would you like to have in Camden?

There are so many things... there is no one fix for everything and everyone. I think currently the smaller charities are feeling it the most (with the pandemic), and they usually have a deeper, more organic reach to underserved parts of the local community. I’m most passionate about reducing inequality in all forms - be it gender, race, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability – and ensuring our funding goes towards supporting their cause.

Imagine we are in 2025, what are your hopes and fears for the future of Camden?

My hopes are that especially after this year, people will have woken up to the need for us to be a community, looking after one another, that we are all going through this crisis together and that it should bring us closer together.

My fear is that post-lockdown, people will be so happy to be back to normal again that we go back to our old ways as opposed to taking onboard everything we have been through and learnt this year – it shouldn’t have been in vain.