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Excerpt: Dr  Marie Lefebvre from Quetzal on the  Decentered Media Podcast  discussed with Jo hn Coster  and  Dr Rob Watson  Community Solutions for breaking the silence about the trauma of childhood sexual abuse. Click here to listen the podcast  Together, on the podcast, we explored how through creative storytelling, each one of us in our own capacity can help in breaking the silence about childhood sexual abuse and empower people to eventually find their voice and contribute to our community and society. With the extended lockdown happening in Leicester, it is primordial than each of us find ways to communicate valuable information to people that will support their mental and physical health, to empower each one of us with strength to voice our needs and concerns. At Quetzal, we deliver counselling services to support women in breaking the bars and psychological cages of the trauma of childhood sexual abuse. A part of my job at ...

Recently, I was on BBC Radio Leicester on behalf of Leicester Fixers to make a call out to communities across Leicestershire. We have plans to support them with setting up their own repair events and be as successful as we. Thanks to Ben Jackson and its team for inviting us on the show to share our voice. Y ou can catch me on iPlayer at this link from 1hr42mins to 1hr50mins into the programme.   With 26 events under our belt and our successes in changing people perspectives, a supporter asks me after listening to the show, w hy we are not getting paid for what we do? Yes, the return on investment in monetary term is currently elusive. Hopefully, there are other ways to measure success. I came across Eric Barker book - Barking up The Wrong Tree - where he goes through tonnes of social sciences articles and books to identify measures of success. He suggests focussing on the feelings of being successful because it could take a while, a long time befor...

Recorded at BBC Radio Leicester It is Zero Waste Week between 4-8 September 2017. Today, Tuesday it is trashless tuesday an opportunity for everyone to re-think their relationships with waste and packaging products. Ultimately it is about refusing packaged items, reducing our dependence on them, reusing what we have.

Published on Thoughful I am five years old. I’m in my bedroom with my coloured pencils and colouring book. Opening the book, I grab a pencil and start colouring. And then, it happens—the thing that always happens to kids my age. I simply cannot stay inside the lines. I am frustrated. It is SO FRUSTRATING! Crying out for my mum to save me from this colouring disaster, she opens the door. “What’s wrong?” “Help!” She sits next to me. She takes a pencil. She shows me how to do it. “Stay calm, take a deep breath, and move the pencil around the edges of the picture, like this,” she explains. I watch her carefully. I follow her instructions. I fail a few times. And then, like magic, I am no longer going outside the lines. I am a colouring genius. And all it took was one word—help. It has taken me a couple of decades, some academic research and a little reminiscing to get to this simple truth… that in a weird way, help is like glue. When something is broken, vexingly incomplete, help is the b...

Podcast by Restart Project After literally running together from our Parliamentary Restart Party, we had the pleasure of chatting with Marie Lefebvre and Divya Pujara of the Leicester Fixers. Together they have been hosting Restart Parties in their city for a year now.

Published on Restart Project My name is Marie Lefebvre. I co-founded with Divya Pujara, Leicester Fixers in 2014 with the support of  Footpaths , a carbon footprint project,  Leicester Hackspace  and Transition Leicester. Other little things about myself, I am not a repairer yet I am absolutely delighted every time an electrical item gets opened and I can see inside it. I am also a Ph.D student at Loughborough University investigating the propensity of users of stuff to repair. I love each and every Restart Party because I always learn something new and meet lovely people.

Published on Footpaths Leicester The room was full of people ready to witness images of people across the world fighting to live in a world where the land from which they sustain themselves from can be protected and cared for. This Changes Everything documentary is a snapshot of the battle between capitalism and climate, between capitalism and people as described in more details in the book 'This Changes Everything' by Naomi Klein.

Published on Footpaths Leicester Capitalism is an economic and political system in which a country's trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit, rather than by the state. My carbon footprint is the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere as a result of my activities. My activities serve capitalism. They serve private owners for profit at the expense of natural resources and human beings. I am trapped and enslaved by capitalism, this is my relationship with it and it impacts dearly on my carbon footprint but also on my wellbeing and sense of belonginess. I am striving to strip myself away from capitalism. I refused to work for large corporate organisations. I refuse to consume excessively. I shop in charity shops, buy in bulk from the Wholefood Coop in Leicester, cycle to work, do not travel by plane. I try to save for some solar panels and an electric car, I try to repair what I own and try to engage others in changing behaviour through campaigning...

Published on Footpaths Leicester The Green Festival of Making and Mending is 5 weeks away and last week I finally had my making moment. Zina and I have been working relentlessly in the organisation of the festival and its pre-festival events to enthuse people to make and mend in an ingeneous, creative and more environmentally friendly way. The experience has taught me many skills, from communication to project management. I kept unfortunately my spirit away from engaging with the craft of making and mending.

Great news, I won a competition to win a place at an Inner Transition Course run by The Transition Network . My entry was about a course that changed my life and this was Project Management completed with Change Agents . I used the course to plan my financial independence with a first step to tackle my student loan debt and achieve complete financial freedom. You can read my entry here . Enjoy!