Clean Up of the Commonwealth House by Members of the Armed Forces Community from the Commonwealth

The weekend of 3rd & 4th as whole was very significant and offered an exceptionally rewarding experience.

It started off with a meet and cleanup day on Saturday 3rd May, with fellow Commonwealth cohorts from across the services, both serving personal and veterans as well. The administration of the feeding plan, accommodation, and PPE for the event was all covered by the agencies involved; the food and hospitality from the Walsall Community Association was top notch.

The next Day’s event was the 80th Anniversary Church Service, which I was truly honoured and privileged to lead. The historical event was attended by the Deputy Lord Lieutenant of Birmingham, Prof Martin Levermore MBE DL, on behalf of the King. The building was officially dedicated by the guest speaker, Bishop Wilton Powell OBE. Both gentlemen have strong affiliations to the Commonwealth military community.

In hindsight, this is only the beginning of a two-year project. We hope to achieve our objective prior to the opening of the INVICTUS Games in 2027.

We are very grateful for all the support from the following regiments:

Royal Artillery led by Sgt Punthen, Royal Signals led by Ssgt Joe Navoka from 216 and Sgt Maruka from 16X, Royal Logistics Corps led by Ssgt Seerauj, Adjudant General Corps led by Ssgt Njuguna, the Royal Army Physical Training Corps led by Ssgt Peltier, King’s Royal Hussars led by Cpl Richardson & Royal Fusiliers led by W02 Rasoki in seizing opportunities like this, to impact our diverse service communities and improve society. Hopefully, we will have our deep cleaning next June, and we hope to see more SPs from the Commonwealth involved in supporting this worthy cause.

Below is a video from Samuel T. Reddy, CEO of Leavers to Leaders & Founder of Op Belonging, regarding the historical event:



“They say that actions speak louder than words, and I’m speechless about the incredible progress we’ve made in refurbishing Commonwealth House in the Black Country for Commonwealth and Overseas Soldiers who have come to serve with the UK Ministry of Defence in the British Army, Royal Air Force (RAF), and Royal Navy.

Samuel T. Reddy


Last Saturday, approximately 40 service members from Fiji, Africa, South Asia, and the Caribbean gathered to serve in the community and clean up the Commonwealth House as part of Operation Belonging. 75 service leavers will be encouraged to begin NVQ Level 2 and 3 construction trades courses in the coming weeks. At the same time, another 30 will use this project to supplement their MSc or MBA studies in Sustainable Development with Leavers to Leaders.

This initiative is about more than just refurbishing; it is about forging bridges, instilling a sense of belonging in communities, and having a genuine, good impact on society. To be continued.

#CommonwealthHouse #OPBELONGING #serviceleavers #servicepersonnel #leadership #military #veterans”

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