Trustee, Matthew Chisambi, reflects on why men must step up in the fight against child poverty

Picking a name? Perhaps that’s one of the few things that every new parent goes through, where the experience is quite similar irrespective of your background. Choices shaped by generational popularity, culture, family and the name not reminding you of that annoying kid at primary school or an ex-partner you’d rather forget. As I go through lists made for our first child in preparation for our second, my day job in the NHS and trustee role at Little Village, makes me acutely aware about how my privilege protects me from other concerns.  

Fortunately (so far), we will not have to be making very difficult choices about whether we can afford to stay where we live, nor how we will find money to cover the essentials and the fun stuff that should make becoming a new parent a joyous, albeit tiring, experience. 

This wasn’t the same for my mum, nor for an estimated 400,000 new parents every year, who give life to the approximate 3 in 10 children living in child poverty. I do not take my current situation for granted, I know how quickly it can change. Last year, I had the pain of leading a restructure at work. I know talented individuals, with families to support, who have not yet found their next meaningful thing. In my bit of the healthcare sector, we are expecting about 9,000 job losses in the next year. Overall, redundancies are on the rise, more than doubling since 2022 to over 100,000 in the last quarter of 2025/26. Some of those affected will no doubt include parents of children under 5.  

It is genuinely a privilege to be affiliated with a charity who is helping to support those parents who find themselves in difficult situations at one of life’s biggest junctures. Whilst all my interactions with Little Village are tinged with a glow that the organisation’s culture exudes. I am always left grappling with one question:  

Where are all the men? 

I am the only male member of our 12-strong Board. Little Village’s staff is 15% male. Our volunteer base is 10% male. 

So why is childhood poverty a female problem? 

The intention of this blog is not to judge or comment on the role of single parent families, who do excellently for their families. Nor is it to view the world through a hetero-norm lens – Little Village is an extremely inclusive organisation.  

However, as we approach Father’s Day, it is to question, why the societal response to childhood poverty seems to led by women. Given that single parent households are majority female, there may be a gender-based solidarity aspect but there is so much men can and should offer to this cause. This blog seeks to encourage others to actively help.  

My personal involvement is as a Tech trustee. Where I am able apply the skills from my career in developing digital innovation to support the excellent corporate Tech team with their strategy and live deployments.  

One of the long-serving, male Little Village stars I have met along the way is Tomasz. He is the “Big Kit” Lead at the Little Village warehouse. He is responsible for “Big Kit”; prams, cots, changing tables etc. Tomasz has an infectious personality, alongside strong mechanic skills. He assembles, safety checks and dissembles these donations. Perhaps most importantly, he makes critical and difficult decisions about which families will receive these essential items given that demand, sadly, always outstrips supply. I was left in awe by his ethical compassion and dedication. 

There are lots of ways to get involved with Little Village: whether it’s working with families directly, sorting donations, making deliveries, supporting over the phone, one-off days, regular sessions, skills-based or as a Trustee. During the second half of this year, we will be launching a recruitment campaign to replace our excellent Treasurer Gerry. Gerry has a background in accountancy, which is 55% male (ONS, 2021). If you’ve read this far, please keep an eye out on the chance to apply.  

Applying to be part of Little Village has been one of the best decisions I’ve recently made. I’ve felt re-connected with the wider London community and learnt so much from fabulous (mostly female!) colleagues and volunteers. It would be great for more men to consider playing an active role with us, so we can grow our Village and improve the lives of so many families and young people. I hope you’ll join us.  

However, if you don’t have the time right now, please consider a Father’s Day gift to another family through our current campaign, the Little Village Great Big Baby Shower. All donations made until midday on 17 June will be doubled.