Rooted in Battersea. Built for the community.
Kambala Community Alliance CIC is a not-for-profit organisation based in SW11, founded by long-standing Battersea residents who have spent decades serving the local area. We exist to alleviate isolation and loneliness, promote a sense of belonging and well-being, and nurture the local organisations and start-ups that make our community thrive. Our hall at 126 Fawcett Close is open to charities, community groups, and grassroots initiatives at affordable rates — because access to space should never be a barrier to doing good work.
Meet the Directors
KCA is not a charity that has come into this community from outside. Our co-directors have lived, worked in Battersea and Wandsworth for a combined total of over 60 years. We are neighbours, not visitors — we understand this community because we are this community.
Lisa Idrisu
Co-Director · KERA Secretary, KLS Elders Team, Founder Otaj PamperingLisa has called the Winstanley neighbourhood home since 2001, and in that time has become one of its most dedicated community figures. Her voluntary work spans Providence House, Battersea Mission, Battersea Arts Centre, Share Community, and Katherine Low Settlement, where she currently supports the Elder programme — working directly with older residents most at risk of isolation and loneliness. She joined the Kambala Estate Resident Association in 2018 and now serves as its Secretary, giving residents a stronger voice in decisions that affect their lives. For Lisa, KCA is not a project — it is a continuation of over two decades of unwavering commitment to the people of SW11.
Sandra Munoz-Alvarez
Co-Director · KERA Treasurer · London Borough of Culture Champion · Founder, Keepsake VideosA founding member of Big Local SW11, Sandra has contributed to community life across Wandsworth for two decades — from Sure Start Battersea and Women of Wandsworth to Katherine Low Settlement, Providence House and Friends of York Gardens Library. She first managed the Kambala Clubroom in 2012, and returning in 2024, she made reopening it her mission. As London Borough of Culture Champion she has been part of funding decisions with the Wandsworth Arts team, and through her community videography business Keepsake Videos, she brings both a vast network and a gift for capturing the stories that matter. Sandra is KERA’s Treasurer and KCA’s connector.
Nasiya Vorajee
Co-Director · Lead & Wellbeing Worker at the Islamic Culture Education Centre · Founder, Her Way ForwardNasiya brings to KCA a deep, personal commitment to accessible local support and the belief that every woman in this community deserves a space to grow, connect, and be heard. She co-founded Her Way Forward to create welcoming environments where women can build confidence, find encouragement, and support one another. Through years of working with families and local networks across Wandsworth, Nasiya has witnessed firsthand the barriers that so many women face — and that lived experience shapes the heart of everything KCA does. Her work is a reminder that community wellbeing is inseparable from the wellbeing of the women within it.
Meet our partners
Rooted in the same legacy. Building the same future.
KCA did not emerge in isolation. We are part of a longer story of community-led investment in Battersea SW11 — one that began with Big Local SW11 and continues today through the organisations and people it inspired.
Big Local SW11 was a resident-led programme that invested in the Winstanley and York Road community over many years, funding local organisations including the Battersea Alliance and the Community and Belonging Forum. Though Big Local SW11 has now concluded, its legacy lives on — in the networks it built, the organisations it supported, and the people it empowered. KCA is proud to carry that spirit forward.
The Battersea Alliance
The Battersea Alliance is a community organisation rooted in the same SW11 landscape as KCA. Originally funded by Big Local SW11 alongside the Community and Belonging Forum, the Alliance has continued its work beyond the Big Local programme — supporting grassroots organisations, connecting residents with resources, and advocating for the long-term wellbeing of the Battersea community.
The Battersea Alliance has been part of KCA’s journey from the very beginning — playing a pivotal role in the effort to bring the Kambala space back into community hands. Their ongoing support as advisers, fundraising allies, and community champions is invaluable to everything we are building
David Stone
Adviser · Battersea AllianceDavid brings deep roots in the SW11 community through his work with Big Local SW11 and the Battersea Alliance. He has been a consistent supporter of KCA’s mission to return the Kambala space to the community, offering guidance on fundraising strategy, community development, and building sustainable local partnerships.
Shaline Manhertz
Adviser · Battersea AllianceShaline has been a committed advocate for community-led change in Battersea through her involvement with Big Local SW11 and the Battersea Alliance. She brings invaluable knowledge of local funding landscapes, community engagement, and the practical realities of running grassroots organisations in SW11 — and has championed KCA’s vision from its earliest days.
Winstanley Neighbourhood Regeneration Team — Wandsworth Council Supporting partner
The Kambala Health & Wellbeing Hub sits at the heart of one of London’s most significant regeneration programmes.
The Regeneration Team has been a supportive presence in KCA’s journey to reopen the Kambala centre. The team is based locally at 10 Grant Road, SW11, and holds regular drop-in sessions for residents — a sign of their commitment to keeping the community at the centre of decisions that affect their lives. KCA shares that commitment entirely, and we are proud to work alongside the Regeneration Team as the neighbourhood enters this new chapter.
How did we get here?
KCA did not appear overnight. Our three directors share a common thread that runs through over a decade of community-led work in SW11 — and that thread is Big Local SW11.
Lisa became involved during one of the neighbourhood’s most difficult moments, leading the Big Local SW11 Covid Response and working closely with the Resident Association and local community figures to keep residents connected and supported throughout lockdown.
Nasiya has been part of the Community and Belonging Forum since its very beginning — helping shape a space where residents could come together, have their voices heard, and build the social connections that make a neighbourhood feel like home.
Sandra is one of the founding members of Big Local SW11, having helped establish and grow the programme from the ground up. She created and managed the Big Local SW11 website, Facebook, and Twitter presence for the first five years — telling the story of the community to the community. She was elected Chair of the Kambala Resident Association twice, and now serves as its Treasurer.
When Big Local SW11 came to an end, the question for all three was the same: how do we keep this going? The answer was Kambala Community Alliance — and reopening the centre that had once been the heartbeat of this estate.
📽️ Learn more about the Big Local SW11 journey in the documentary below. (Video & Editing by Sandra Munoz-Alvarez)