Episode 1 Sister Rita to the Rescue

Across Britain, in hundreds of towns, cities and neighbourhoods,

people are struggling with everyday worries

that have gotten on top of them.

But there are places to turn,

even if it seems that no-one else will help.

This centre is one of them.

Made unique by the woman that runs it.

A nun for 51 years,

HORN BEEPS

Bye-bye!

She's made it her mission to get this community back on its feet

and make a real difference to the lives of as many people as she can.

In her own particular way.

They don't call me the formidable Sister Rita for nothing.

As Sister Rita returns with more ambitious plans than ever

to improve the lives of local residents,

her plans to grow fresh produce for the food bank hit trouble

when she can't find enough volunteers to muck in.

Who's going to help us to grow the vegetables?

Because if you don't grow them, you won't get them.

And the nun and her team are back doing what they do best -

delivering help to whoever needs it most.

It will be better.

It will get better.

Good morning, everybody.

It's lovely to be back!

Can I just have your attention one minute?

Quiet!

Each new day at the Lalley Centre has the same beginning.

A unique pep talk no-one dares interrupt.

I want you to listen to me.

That's how it goes.

My word, I use a lot of energy on you lot.

Are you listening? Get up out of bed and be there.

While the seasons come and go, and faces change,

one constant here is the formidable Sister Rita herself.

Excuse me.

Not now, Colette.

Did you do that on purpose?

You'll be dead if you did.

The no-nonsense nun has established this drop-in centre as a focal point

for the Manchester district of Collyhurst,

offering food, welfare advice,

or just a supportive ear to residents of one of the most

deprived parts of the UK.

Where are we getting the money?

I was going to rob a bank.

Max wouldn't drive the car.

Along with her staff and volunteers, she's made it her personal mission

to improve the lives of as many people as she can.

But the sister is no soft touch.

You're going to get a name that all you ever do is come here

and expect us to fork out for you.

Well, fork out for yourself.

And while she takes no prisoners and always speaks her mind...

We are either a mover and a shaker

or a ducker and a diver.

So you should say to yourself, "Which one am I?"

..there's no-one the locals would rather turn to

if they find themselves needing help.

If your baby needs clothes, if your baby needs anything,

-you come in here and I will sort out what you need.

-OK.

-SHE LAUGHS

-You're naughty!

But Sister Rita's inimitable style has become familiar

to far more people than simply those who call in to the Lalley.

Last year for the first time,

cameras followed the nun and her team as they worked to make things

better, not just for individuals but the community as a whole.

-Are you all right, love?

-Yeah.

Their efforts led to the creation of a friendship club

so that anyone living in the area had somewhere to go for a chat.

Do you know who came in the first day?

-Who?

-Nobody.

This is Collyhurst.

Right.

They take a very long time to do anything.

THEY CHUCKLE

And Sister Rita captured the hearts and minds of the locals

by encouraging them to take responsibility for where they live.

Making sure it was clean and tidy,

with a hope that pride in their surroundings

would lead to an improved optimism and community spirit.

I think Sister Rita's everybody's... Collyhurst's secret weapon.

Community is about working together for the greater good of Collyhurst,

and you can't buy that.

APPLAUSE

In fact, over the last 12 months,

the only thing that's stopped Sister Rita in her tracks has been

the enormous response she's received

after first appearing on our screens.

Inundated with letters and offers of help,

she's been overwhelmed by the positive reaction.

When I was reading them when they came in first,

I think I spent two days crying, you know.

I couldn't... I couldn't...

I couldn't take it in.

"The programme on television lifted my spirit.

"This week, I have received £10 extra with my pension."

She put it in here, God love her.

"Please buy some biscuits or a bottle of bubbly or chocs.

"You choose."

I bought the bubbly and I drank it!

LAUGHTER

That's not true!

For Sister Rita,

the letters are a reminder that community is about more

than the people on your doorstep.

I think that the greatness of humanity

has come out in those letters.

And it's about people appreciating people.

You can't get better than that.

"This is the reason I admire and applaud you all

"for the great work that you all do."

This is lovely for me to be reading this to you,

because, really, you're the ones that are really doing this.

It gave us great encouragement, you know?

It gave us...

It put a great emphasis on the things that we're doing

and the things that we intended to do, and gave us energy to go on and do them.

Can I just finish off by saying, you must know this,

that every letter that comes in here, some of them forget to say it,

it's about all of us together.

And if you think that me and Max could run this place,

well, then you're very naive, because there's no way we could do it.

-Oh, we know that!

-So, each one of you are...

vital in this team.

Vital in this team. So, thank you very much.

I'm really grateful, and so is Max.

Sister Rita has received hundreds of phone calls,

donations and extra help.

She's been moved and humbled by the gestures of ordinary people

supporting the Lalley.

Oh, look at this. Wow!

A particularly unexpected gift has come from this man, market trader Zed Karefu.

This is very important.

This gentleman is called Zed,

and yesterday he drove all the way down from London

and he brought with them what Max is going to show you now.

Beautiful, beautiful trainers for children.

I see Sister Rita on TV.

I think she does an amazing job.

How many people are like that?

You don't find many people to do something for free for people

who are not well off.

Do you realise that the kids here would never get trainers like this?

Of course I do, I know they won't.

I've always sold things in markets,

bought some trainers, I had pairs left over.

What can you do with pairs left over? Nobody wanted to buy them.

My father always said giving creates love, and I hope it does.

I really couldn't believe that somebody would drive

all the way down from London just to give us stuff.

It was very moving, and it meant a tremendous amount to me...

-Oh, you're welcome.

-..and to the people.

You might as well just give it to people who appreciate it more.

-I do know there are a lot of people who would not give away stuff like that.

-Yeah.

No, they wouldn't do it.

Whatever finds its way to the Lalley,

Sister Rita's priority is always to get it straight to the people who benefit most.

And these trainers are no exception.

The nun's bothered less about where they've come from

than where they're going.

So her right-hand man, Max, wastes no time in handing them out

to families who might struggle to buy anything comparable.

I've received some trainers today from the Lalley Centre.

I'm giving them to my grandkids

and I believe they'll be very happy to get these trainers.

It means everything.

It's like if you can't afford something,

the children won't get anything to put on their feet.

These shoes are very special. Yeah?

And they were given to us, and I'm sure he will love them.

-Thank you very much.

-All right.

Something else Rita and her team often provide to people who need it is furniture.

And they're about to collect some from a more regular source of

support to the Lalley - the nearby Manchester City Football Club.

Max and some volunteers head over to their stadium,

where partnerships manager Mike Geary

has some sofas the club no longer needs.

Don't worry, lads,

they'll just stand here and hold it while you chill in there!

They may no longer be premier-league,

but these sofas will prove invaluable to Sister Rita and her team.

I hope they go to a good home.

I'm sure that they will do, yes.

They're better off going to you guys

and going to a good home than staying in here.

Any goods donated to the Lalley will end up in the homes of people

Sister Rita and her team have identified

as being in urgent need of basic furniture.

And for this set in particular, they've already got someone in mind.

-Top one, we're on.

-Right, come on.

-Which one are we taking?

-This one.

-What, that one?

-Yeah.

Sister Rita's taking the sofas to a long-term Lalley visitor

struggling to get back on her feet

after years of unemployment and ill-health.

We're going to see Niquan.

She lives in Blackley and she wanted two settees.

Niquan's old sofas are long past their sell-by date

and don't even have a back to lean on.

So the club's donation couldn't have come at a better time.

Niquan is on benefits and nobody's rich on benefits.

And she would never be able to afford to buy a sofa like this for her house,

so we're really happy to go and help her.

Niquan is a regular face at the Lalley's food bank.

And Sister Rita is keen to help her in any other way she can.

-Where is she? How are you?

-Hello, Sister Rita.

-I'm all right, sweetheart. How are you?

-I'm good, yeah.

Is it just this settee you want?

Let the two fellas there.

Oh, I say, let me have a go of it.

-Oh, it's comfortable.

-I know.

-It's comfortable in the back there and all, isn't it?

-Yeah, it is.

-Yeah.

-Could sleep on this.

I absolutely love the bee's knees of the Lalley Centre for helping me out.

I don't know how to describe it.

I just love them to death. They've really helped me out.

Saved my bacon.

But I tell you what, I didn't know you needed what you needed.

You should have come and said. That's what we do.

I'm not bone idle me, you know.

You're not bone idle? Good.

Oh, gosh!

And honest to God, I haven't had my afternoon drink yet!

-Thank you, sweetheart.

-Look after yourself.

-Same to you.

Niquan is grateful for the new addition to her home.

Even if it has come from an unexpected source.

I believe the sofas come from Man City, but I'm a Man U supporter.

But, you know, beggars can't be choosers!

While for Niquan the furniture from the Lalley will make a world of

difference, for Sister Rita it's all in a day's work.

It's what we do.

It's what we're there for, and maybe we just take it for granted

as we go about doing it.

Helping individuals will always be at the heart

of what the Lalley does,

but seeing the positive effect her team's work has had on people

has given Sister Rita a new determination and enthusiasm

for bringing about more fundamental improvements

for the community as a whole.

And top of her to-do list are two particularly ambitious projects.

She wants to find a way to make use of Collyhurst's empty shops

and is hatching a plan she hopes will encourage businesses

to invest and provide genuine work opportunities

for the people who live here.

The main aim of the Lalley Centre is to improve people's lives

in whatever way we can.

Collyhurst, it is a very poor area.

As a society, you can't drag those people.

You have to carry them.

Sister Rita's other priority

is completing a scheme already under way.

The key part of her operation at the Lalley remains its food bank -

one of hundreds run by charities and faith groups right across the UK.

Ever ambitious,

Sister Rita has a new master plan she wants to roll out.

At least half a million people in the UK use food banks,

with demand at an all-time high.

But Sister Rita's keen to boost the amount of fresh produce available.

So last year she began cultivating the land next door to the Lalley

to create an allotment,

which she hopes will not only provide healthy food all year round,

but encourage those using the food bank into better eating habits.

It was amazing, the way it happened.

And right in front of us there was all this awful, like,

wasteland with...everything imaginable thrown on it.

And I said, "Look at that all there, it's a mess."

"Why couldn't we have an allotment here?"

As well as growing a regular supply of fruit and vegetables,

the allotment has another equally important goal -

to provide skills and work opportunities

in an area of high unemployment.

And from the off, Sister Rita involved some young trainees.

-You'll be able to look and say, "We did that!"

-Yeah.

You know, we did that for the whole area.

We're doing this for everybody in Collyhurst, not just for us.

But six months on,

knowing full well this was a job for the professionals,

Sister Rita has enlisted the help of national environmental charity

Groundwork, which transforms wasteland in inner cities

across the country to create fully functioning allotments.

And helping to oversee the project is Rebecca Knowles.

The grand plan in the immediate future

is that we get these three raised beds cultivated

and up and running with crops in

so we can have a fairly early harvest.

But the real fruit of the project

will be what it could achieve long-term.

The overall aim is to get the local community growing

and to provide fresh crops and fresh salad leaves

for Sister Rita's food-bank project.

Because a food bank,

even though it's a really useful thing for a short-term fix,

it's not a sustainable solution for food poverty.

But if you can get people growing,

give them the skills to grow their own stuff,

they're then more in control.

It is enormously ambitious, but you've got to start somewhere.

But it's the start that's proving difficult.

She's finding it hard to muster enough volunteers.

Without sufficient boots on the ground,

Sister Rita's worried that her plans for a huge harvest festival

to celebrate the community coming together will be a wash-out.

But this is a project she's determined cannot fail.

So the nun is quick to make her disappointment known

to the Lalley Centre regulars.

The only problem I have is even though you're smiling nicely at me,

I don't see you down there working.

And I'm not doing it. I'm 99!

Are you listening?

Get up off your backside and do something for yourself.

And get involved in the allotment.

And you can grow the food, and you can take it home and you can eat it.

One reason Sister Rita's so passionate about the allotment

is that, for her, it's the perfect example of faith in action.

It's from Saint Matthew's gospel.

"I was hungry and you gave me food."

And that's exactly what we're trying to do with the allotment.

One line.

And the Bible is full of them.

The nun is hopeful her gentle persuasion

will have an effect on the number of volunteers.

They need around ten people to come down

and tend to the plants every week.

But regardless of the turnout,

Rebecca is helping to train the pupils she does have to cultivate

the land, so that eventually they'll be able to do it without her.

Here comes Sister Rita.

Hello, my dear.

-Good morning, how are you?

-How are you?

-It's nice to see you.

-It's really cold!

-How are you doing?

And Rebecca has a very welcome surprise for Sister Rita.

The very first shoots are starting to poke through the soil.

So although there's a long way to go, this is fantastic progress.

Wow!

That is wonderful.

That's the only one that is showing any sign of growing,

but we're quite excited about that.

That means there's more coming through.

It is a little bit of "build it and they will come", I think.

Once people see, and once people are benefiting from the produce,

I think people will come.

Of course, Sister Rita's always been one to practise what she preaches.

So getting stuck in by planting a pear tree

is more than just symbolic.

You get it where it's very heavy, and I'll get it where it's light!

-There we are.

-Get it angled.

-Is it straight?

That looks pretty good, right?

So, I'm going to get back in there.

Any of that can just go round, then we can finish it off for you.

APPLAUSE

If you don't shut up, I'll hit you!

Whilst Sister Rita is thrilled with the work that's being done,

she knows that she needs to get someone to take charge of the project on a more long-term basis.

There's a tremendous amount of work to be done here

and I would not be the one to do it.

But I would be the one to get somebody to do it.

So that's what I'm hoping is going to happen very soon.

As soon as possible, really.

You must keep at it.

It's perseverance, is a long word.

You are wonderful and... So, one, two, three, four, five.

I'm going to give you some money to go and get sandwiches.

Is that OK?

You come with me to the Lalley, please.

And then you can have...

And I've got in the back of my car...Coke or something,

I don't know what it is, but we'll give you that as well.

Someone who's recently come to rely on the Lalley's food bank

is single mum Claire.

She's long-term unemployed,

and desperate to find a job to set an example to her 11-year-old son, George.

It's not normal to be on benefits.

That's supposed to be short-term, not long-term, you know.

If you have to do it

then it's supposed to be an emergency thing and, you know,

he's not going to learn if the only role model in his life

is at home all the time.

Most of the people who come to the Lalley Centre

are long-term unemployed.

Erm... And I...

I can't even imagine how that would be.

You know, they're weighed down by the fact that, you know,

their own family depend on them.

The very thought that, "Nobody wants me, no matter how often I apply,

"no matter how often I go for interviews."

Sister Rita has sent social worker Lorraine,

from Catholic charity Caritas,

to take some food round to Claire's home, after she's got herself

into even greater difficulties.

Two years of job searching and being knocked back is so disheartening.

And she said herself, it makes her feel worthless.

Lorraine's concerned Claire's confidence will be worn down further

after turning to the food bank

because she can't afford to buy what she needs.

It's all the silly little things.

-Potatoes, bread.

-Staples, aren't they?

-Yeah.

Especially him, mashed potato.

If I can't feed him nothing, he'll eat mashed potato.

-A bag of 'taters costs next to nothing, doesn't it?

-Yeah.

But when they're not there...

Claire's problems have come to a head

after a row at the Jobcentre over the time she needed to sign on.

The slot she'd been given clashed with school pick-up for son George.

Her frustrations boiled over,

and in the heat of the moment she stopped claiming her benefits.

But all that's done is make things worse,

because she'd cut off the only cash she had.

I lost my temper.

Just told her, "I ain't doing it. Keep your giro."

And I walked off and never went back.

Which is why I say it's my fault that I'm in this situation.

I need a part-time job.

It's not for want of trying, though, is it, Claire? You've been trying.

I applied for everything. Anything and everything.

To fit in with school hours?

And I need to be a role model and show him, and have a job,

even just a little one

to show him that you have to earn, because he thinks it's on trees.

The roof over your head is your priority.

When all this come, that's why I phoned you.

Cos I didn't want to end up losing my home

and ending up homeless.

At Collyhurst, the Government has rolled out Universal Credit,

a scheme that allows people like Claire to get paid

all their benefits in one payment once a month,

instead of claiming each benefit that they're entitled to separately.

The application process should take between five to six weeks.

By now, the money should be in her bank account but, as yet,

it hasn't arrived.

It hasn't gone in.

-It's not gone in?

-No.

-Right, OK.

-Right, so I'll phone.

-Do you want to give them a ring?

-I'll give them a ring and see.

Every time I ring 'em, I can be on hold for ten minutes, 15.

It costs me money, every single time.

They could give me a job as an operator!

But when she does get through, there's good news.

I phoned up this morning,

I just wondered when it was going in because it's not gone...

All right, OK. Thank you.

Thank you, bye.

She's saying it'll be in before close of today,

but it's definitely going in.

-Oh, good.

-Ker-ching!

As with anyone who wants to claim Universal Credit,

Claire may need to provide proof of the jobs she's applied for.

And, of course, make sure she attends any scheduled Jobcentre appointments.

But it's a huge relief that by the end of the day

she'll once again have some money in the bank.

And she can focus on searching for the job

she hopes will get her back on her feet.

We don't have any family or anything. You got back to me.

You've helped me out, and the Lalley,

with me food, and me gas, and me electric.

All right. I shall see you soon.

Oh, the sun's come out! It was raining before.

-See?

-Thank you.

-All right, then, Claire.

Claire is one of around 140 visitors

who pass through the doors of the Lalley every week.

All those who come to the drop-in centre for help,

advice, or just something to eat

have their needs assessed by one of the team.

And it was during one of those chats that Sister Rita's

trustee deputy, Max, first came across young mum Navenka Baron.

The first person who sees anyone in distress would be Max.

Because he's always walking around in the reception area

and making sure everything's OK whilst I'm locked in an office.

And he was very stressed when he told me about her.

Navenka works part-time as a cleaner.

But with three young children,

one of which suffers from a serious stomach problem,

Max and Sister Rita are concerned that she's struggling to get by.

So they're doing a home assessment and taking with them some toys,

as Max's questions reveal the children have nothing to play with.

We don't normally take toys outside of Christmas and birthdays,

but this is a different set-up.

Because this mother is obviously struggling very much

with the three children,

and there's nothing to stimulate the children.

So we're hoping this will do it.

The first challenge for Sister Rita and Max is to find Navenka's home.

-SATNAV: Turn right...

-All right, love.

-..then turn right.

Turn right.

Turn right!

-Is it here?

-Yes, yeah.

Around one in four children in Britain today

live below the poverty line.

With over 150,000 in the Greater Manchester region.

And it's single-parent families like Navenka's among the worst-affected.

-Hello!

-Hiya.

-How are you, love?

Hiya.

Originally from Romania, Navenka has now settled in Manchester.

She doesn't claim any benefits, and rents two rooms in this house

whilst sharing the kitchen with four other people.

But as soon as Sister Rita and Max arrive,

they're shocked to see the family is living without even basic furniture.

How many families here?

THEY CONVERSE IN THEIR OWN LANGUAGE

-Two couples more.

-Two couples more?

-No children?

-No children.

Right, so she needs a dining-room table here and chairs.

'Sometimes these visits are difficult

'and you have to try to keep focused, which is not always easy.

'There was nothing in the room.

'There was no curtains on the window, there wasn't a chair.'

She'd sit on the floor.

But there was bunk beds,

two beds, and she slept on the lower and the two little boys slept above.

It's become clear that as well as her children, Navenka also needs some help.

So, while Sister Rita and Max hatch a plan,

they can still bring a smile to the boys' faces.

Look at this for you! What is it?

Look!

Ah! Thank you!

Oh, is that lovely?

Aw.

You like it?

He likes it!

'To see the faces of those children as they opened the bags, it was like

'awe and wonder and Christmas and birthdays all mixed in in one.'

So, that's the reward.

That's it.

It will be better.

It will get better!

In her 51 years as a nun, Sister Rita has seen plenty of poverty.

But she's always taken aback by those that seem so gracious when they have so little.

My God, Max.

I didn't think it was that bad.

I just think it's awful. Do you?

Those kids, and she's struggling so hard, you know.

What struck me, and I've had this on missions, actually,

was...

the joy of the woman. You know?

There was no self-pity, there was no,

"Woe is me, I haven't got a chair to sit on."

Sister Rita sets about trying to sort some basic furnishings out

for Navenka's home.

And thanks to a timely donation,

Max is soon able to deliver a dining-room table and chairs.

It is more better, it here.

Yeah. It's much better here because they were with no table,

they were eating in their hands.

It was not comfy.

Now they are going to eat properly.

I firmly believe we're given a mission in life.

Every one of us. We don't all take it up.

But at the end of the day, when I'm alone in my room at night,

I know what I've done through the day.

And what I haven't do.

And where I've failed miserably.

Nobody else sees that.

Cos it's inside me.

So, I am missioned to do this,

like all of our sisters are missioned to do this.

Whether it's furniture, food, or just a timely boost in confidence,

the help Sister Rita and her team provide comes in many forms.

And the support they've given unemployed mum Claire

has been just what she needed.

Things for her are now starting to look up.

Through her Jobcentre,

she's been offered a four-week unpaid placement

at a local charity as the first step of getting her back into full-time paid work.

All Claire needs to do now is look the part.

I need...

..two pairs of trousers, two tops and a pair of shoes.

So...

I need long sleeves.

Cool and comfortable.

But after two years of being unemployed,

Claire lacks the means to buy the work clothes she'll need.

So Sister Rita's pointed her in the direction

of a Jobcentre scheme that provides vouchers to buy clothes

deemed essential for a new job.

And while that's an enormous help,

the prospect of the placement is daunting.

And it's an unfamiliar feeling to be shopping for so many new clothes.

I'd go to Middleton and go round the charity shops and the market.

Do you think that's too...

in-your-face?

For work?

No?

Claire's been given a £50 voucher to buy the one pair of shoes

and two tops and trousers she'll need.

How much you looking to spend?

Oh, you've got...

Do you know what your waist is?

12 going on 16!

I just want to wear a nice cool top but I want to look smart

so that I feel confident working with the public.

Because it's working with people.

Find you a nice top, then. Let's see what we've got in the back.

Look at the state...

Oh, me shoe, look! It smiles!

Sorry.

You get wet feet when it rains, it's awful.

It's nice when it's cool, though.

That. That's comfy.

That's only £6, that. That is comfy.

-That'll do me.

-Them pair?

Does it matter that they're shiny, for work? No.

Yeah, I'll take them, please.

With the shoes sorted,

Claire can decide on the rest of what she needs.

I feel comfortable in this.

I feel confident, yeah. I feel I fit in the workplace.

I think I feel I could walk in and...

greet people and feel smart, because I've got nice clothes on.

Sister Rita's delighted at the immediate benefit

all this has had on Claire's confidence.

You would have sworn she'd won the biggest lottery in England.

But those simple little things, you know, that people offered her,

it really was offering her the hand of friendship.

"Here, take that.

"Get up and get on with your life."

As well as helping people like Claire back into full-time work,

Sister Rita remains optimistic that some of her other plans

could create opportunities too.

But not everything's looking rosy at the allotment,

where there's a lot to do if the nun's dreams

of a bumper summer harvest are to bear fruit.

With the success of the project at stake,

Sister Rita is desperate for the community to get behind it.

As yet, though, very few volunteers are helping out.

And Rebecca, from the charity Groundwork,

has been left to shoulder much of the burden.

Oh, that's better, isn't it?

Everything's still alive.

Very good, well done.

To keep things on track,

Sister Rita is keen to create a part-time paid job

for someone to oversee the site.

-We are going to have a manager, we have to.

-Right.

A part-time manager that we pay.

Have you got anybody in mind?

-Not yet, because we have to make sure we have the funding.

-Right, OK.

But, why, do you know someone?

Is it you?

We'll talk later.

A small handful of hardy volunteers has stepped up to the plate.

Chief among them is long-term Lalley visitor Warren Butcher,

and the allotment seems to have given him

a new-found sense of purpose.

So, let's get this watered, get some of the hand tools and try to get these little bits broken up,

then we can just get these plants in.

One of the volunteers is called Warren,

and Warren, when he came first,

he was very shy.

He tended to keep himself to himself.

He kept on the periphery of the Lalley Centre.

Until the allotment came up.

Well, it's been nice and peaceful.

You can forget everything what's been bothering you

and what's upsetting you and that.

And get on with some digging or weeding.

Warren has been unemployed for five years,

and suffers from a range of health conditions, including leukaemia.

But his green-fingered talent has convinced Rebecca

to give him more responsibility.

Warren?

Now we've got everything planted,

we're going to give it some water now

so each individual plant's going to need watering,

but we're going to have to make sure that we get...

that we check them on a daily basis.

I know it's falling on your toes a bit at the moment,

but they're going to need watering every day.

I would say since Warren started to work on the allotment,

he's sort of become a different man.

He's more at ease with himself.

He's easier talking to people.

That's great for him.

He works very hard.

He's a very, very hard worker.

And we're very grateful to him for all that he does.

But Rebecca still needs many more regular volunteers like Warren

to make the allotment a success.

If there was 50 of us, we'd have it planted.

We'd have everything prepared and we'd have it all planted.

There's a limit to how many you can do

when there's only a handful of you.

And faced with such limited interest in helping out so far,

Sister Rita's plans to find a suitable part-time manager

for the allotment are also proving tougher than expected.

So she's asked Rebecca to stay on through the summer,

or at least until the right candidate can be found.

But if motivating the locals to get involved in her plans

remains a constant challenge,

Sister Rita can at least rely on

support from some influential friends,

equally committed to ensuring her mission

to transform the community is a success.

Ah, come here to me!

You didn't tell me you were coming, I'd have baked a cake!

Sir Peter Fahy is the former Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police.

Retired from the police force, Sir Peter now heads up

his own charity that works with homeless children

in some of the world's poorest regions.

Sir Peter Fahy is a great friend to the Lalley Centre.

Always has been.

But I've talked to him on numerous occasions

about trying to be in touch with people who, basically, have money.

Erm, Sir Peter...

I'm going to bring some stuff from his car.

I've got some stuff in the car.

Sir Peter has not dropped by just to say hello.

He's got some donations for the Lalley to put to good use.

Just collections of clothes and shoes.

Sister Rita came to our church in Northwich

and various people have given me different things.

So it's been great to be able to bring them here today.

I think often what people find very difficult

is to see the need in their own local community.

You can watch the pictures of what's going on in Africa,

you can give money to Oxfam and people like that,

but often you don't realise that

in a big, shiny place like Manchester,

which has got wonderful, wonderful things and big buildings and events,

very, very close to, there are people incredibly deprived.

Having contacts like Sir Peter could prove invaluable for the nun,

who hopes to tap into his connections across the area

and, of course, his friends with deep pockets.

So, what we want you to do is meet with us and you have to talk to us,

-because you're able, about people you know who are rich.

-All right.

-We only want rich people.

-Yeah, OK.

And who could help us a little bit.

So if you add a lot of people together,

-it wouldn't cost a fortune, would it?

-No.

Armed with a new set of contacts,

it's not just because she likes him that Sister Rita is delighted

the ex-chief constable dropped by.

-Good to see you.

-God bless.

I'm really grateful you called in.

Thanks very much, anyway. God bless. Bye-bye now.

-Thank you.

-Bye-bye.

Despite the ongoing battle for funds and support,

Sister Rita and her team feel richly rewarded by seeing the people

they've helped get back on their feet.

So they're pleased to see the effect that landing

an unpaid work placement at a local school

has had on mum Claire Matthews.

The work placement is going absolutely brilliant, I love it.

I think it's really good.

It's the best thing that could have ever happened to me.

I'm learning so much.

Doing admin, secretarial work,

filing, customer service.

I just hope it leads to paid work.

With the bit between her teeth, Claire is certain it won't be long

before she captures the job she covets.

I'm so happy that Lorraine and the Lalley and Sister Rita

supported me through me hard times.

I'm just grateful that they've done it,

cos now things are looking a lot better for me.

Even now, when you're doing this,

you can come here any time if you're struggling with food.

Normally, I'm all right.

It's just cos me benefits was messed,

but it really helped.

We was at the bottom. I didn't know what we was going to do.

And it just sorted us.

You're not always on an up.

You can't always be...

No, it's life.

And surely places like this is where you can come in.

-And most of our visitors don't want to be like this either.

-Yeah.

You know, they come in because they have to, and they make friends here.

-Yeah.

-They don't just come in for food.

They make friends and they're very isolated

and they don't feel like that any more when they've been in here

a couple of times.

I wouldn't be anywhere without their support and their help.

I should've gone to them a bit sooner, I think.

And we're always here for you.

-Don't forget.

-Yep, OK, thank you.

There are so many people who try and try and try,

but the only thing you don't do is give up.

Can't do that.

There's nothing beyond giving up.

There's nothing there.

And on the allotment,

it seems Sister Rita's call to arms has finally had the desired effect,

with a steady stream of volunteers coming forward to muck in.

The reason I'm here is because I know that I always take.

So it's good I should give.

It's very important.

Not taking, not taking - you have to give.

We don't want to let Sister Rita down with this.

Because it's not just about letting Sister Rita down,

it's about letting the community down.

You've just got to keep at it.

A little something is better than nothing.

Some guys up there not able to do anything.

Ladies come down.

Girl power!

It's good to help.

She's helping us too, so we need to help her.

Another new face on the allotment is Cornelius O'Keefe.

-Morning, Cornelius! I don't think...

-Morning, how are we?

I'm fine, thank you. We've not properly met, my name's Rebecca.

After recently meeting Sister Rita, Cornelius,

a retired forklift-truck instructor,

was inspired to give something back to his community,

and called in at the Lalley to offer his services.

What we're trying to do desperately urgently now

is get all the lettuces in.

-I'll help out, do my best.

-Brilliant, that's fantastic.

So, it doesn't matter that they're mixed.

These are mixed salad leaves.

The trickiest part really is separating them from the soil.

But of all the people who have given up their time to work on the allotment,

it's Warren who's been there from the very beginning.

From what it was when we first come down here,

to what it is now, it's...

-Amazing.

-Yeah, it's amazing.

There's a community togetherness there and, you know,

I like to think that this is the core for humanity.

Because community gives you security,

it gives you people who are interested in what you're doing.

It gives you people who will listen to what's going wrong in your life.

You get all that in the allotment.

That's wonderful.

That is as important as growing the vegetables.

Whether it's the first sprouts of a summer harvest

or the early steps towards finding a job,

Sister Rita knows from small beginnings can come great things.

But her ambitions to transform Collyhurst

don't stop with the allotment.

And she'll need to rely on every volunteer she can muster

if she's to succeed in the next stage of her plans.

In her sights is this row of derelict buildings,

which she hopes to reopen as community shops,

perhaps selling the produce she's grown.

But could this be one challenge

even the formidable Sister Rita can't pull off?

Next time...

As Sister Rita's plans take shape, her dreams

of changing Collyhurst forever look set to come unstuck

before they've even begun.

We're trying to make it easier.

but there are people in Collyhurst who are struggling

to buy things that they need.

And drought threatens to destroy her hopes of a summer harvest.

All the plants and vegetables have died of thirst.

It's the craziest thing I've ever heard of.

How could you have an allotment without water?