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From Norfolk RCC

Norfolk Rural Community Council

Debbie Pepper - Access4Life Project Officer

The Access4Life project looks at the various issues people living in rural areas face when attempting to access a variety of key services such as -

Food Shops ; GP Surgeries; Banks; Educational Facilities; Employment; Hospitals; NHS Dentists etc

Difficulty accessing these key services can have a huge impact on people’s lives preventing them from keeping healthy, gaining new skills/training and earning money. As a result it can prevent them from reaching their full potential.

During 2007 the project researched and consulted with three villages in the North Norfolk and Broadland area, successfully identifying and resolving certain access issues some residents were experiencing and also creating the new project Services2gether. Over the course of 2008/09 we have been working with thirty parishes in the Breckland and West Norfolk area. If you would like to learn more about our current project status please click on the following link  Access4Life.

Personal Background

I moved to Norfolk in 1999, having lived in Kent for most of my life before that. I've spent a large proportion of my working life in the retail sector as an assistant manager for Woolworths and I then began working in the voluntary sector for the Norfolk Elders Advocacy Alliance in 1999. In 2005 I began working for the Norfolk RCC on the Local Network Fund and as this fund came to a close in 2008, I applied for and was appointed as the Access4Life project officer.

Interests

This section is always a nightmare as it basically results in a list of stuff that always sounds either dull or sad!! Well here goes my list of dull and sad stuff: I'm interested in art, reading, films, travelling and walking my dog (a German Shepherd called Alaska) and I'm currently studying for an OU degree in History. I have a huge interest in animal welfare and I'm a vegetarian.

Facts

In case anyone is interested in knowing more about little ol' me (which I would bet my life they aren't) here are some incredibly dull facts;

• Favourite Artists - Monet, Durer, Turner & Van Gogh
  File:Waterlillies.jpg

• Favourite Drink - Red Wine, Hot Chocolate & Pineapple Squash 

• Favourite Flowers - Sunflowers, Poppies & Bluebells

• Favourite Food - Spagetti Bolognaise & Chocolate

• Favourite Places - Petra (Jordan), Banff (Canada) & Norfolk

• Favourite Films - The Color Purple & The Breakfast Club

• Favourite Books - The Color Purple, Half of a Yellow Sun & A Thousand Splendid Suns

Debbie Pepper 13:00, 1 March 2007 (GMT)