Communities Against Cancer grantee Kikoi makes an impact!
The Kikoi Connection which represents Black and Asian communities in Hampshire is one of our Communities Against Cancer grantees and a former Hampshire Changemakers Award winner. The organisation has been making huge strides into raising cancer awareness in the community.
On 22 November 2025, Kikoi Connection delivered a Community Against Cancer (CAC) Health Awareness Event in Basingstoke, with a primary focus on prostate cancer awareness within Black, African, Caribbean and Asian communities. The event formed part of Kikoi’s wider commitment to reducing health inequalities by creating culturally relevant spaces for open conversations, trusted information sharing, and community-led engagement around health and wel-lbeing.
The event helped achieve the following:
- Deepening partnerships with recognised organisations such as Prostate Cancer UK and the North Hampshire Prostate Support Group.
- Using community-led facilitation to create a safe space for discussion.
- Building confidence among attendees to ask questions about prostate health, screening, and early detection.
- Continuing the approach of meeting people “where they are”, both culturally and socially.
The CAC Health Event took a more targeted, issue-specific approach, demonstrating Kikoi’s growing maturity in designing focused interventions based on community need.
Approximately 25 attended the event, including children. Engagement among participants was high. Feedback highlighted that presentations were informative, engaging, and accessible, particularly around prostate cancer risks for Black and Asian men.
Key outcomes included:
- Increased awareness of prostate cancer risks, symptoms, and the importance of early testing.
- Strong networking outcomes with Prostate Cancer UK and other health advocates.
- Positive feedback on culturally relevant catering, which also supported a Black-owned local business.
- Valuable insight into barriers to attendance, including timing, publicity reach, and competing community events.
Future Impact and Sustainability
A key outcome of the event was agreement on a 6-month prostate cancer awareness campaign, using social media and community platforms rather than one-off events. This approach aims to:
- Build curiosity and confidence over time.
- Reduce stigma around prostate and other cancers.
- Lead to organised pre-registered testing sessions (at an agreed fee/donation per test).
- Reach individuals who are traditionally hard to engage through formal health settings.
Health awareness will now be embedded into all future Kikoi events, with dedicated information tables and materials (including Macmillan resources and digital tools available on the market. This ensures sustained visibility rather than isolated interventions.
Would you like funding to help raise awareness of cancer?
Come along to our next workshop.