Episode 2 Sister Rita to the Rescue

Across Britain in hundreds of towns, cities and neighbourhoods,

people are struggling with everyday worries

that have got 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 HONKS

-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!

Today, Sister Rita launches her biggest project yet, to transform

the local area by opening a shop in the heart of the community.

We're trying to make it easier for the people in Collyhurst who

-are struggling to buy things that they need.

-Yes, I know.

And the nun's other big idea could be sunk when there's an

unexpected water crisis at the allotment.

So all the plants and vegetables have to die of thirst.

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

How could you have an allotment without water?

Another morning has broken at the Lalley Centre.

I still didn't hear you. Good morning.

-ALL:

-Good morning!

Thank you.

But as usual, it's something of a rude awakening

for those who step out of line.

Are you still talking?

Go on outside and talk. Goodbye!

I will throw you out, you know. I'm quite capable.

I've learned how to do it.

No-one does tough love better than the formidable Sister Rita...

Tell them, hurry up.

..who's made it her personal mission to make life better

for the residents of one of the most deprived parts of UK.

Well, I do expect wonders, but miracles take a bit longer.

Nobody wants to bribe you!

She's turned the Lalley into a focal point for the community -

a place where anyone can drop in to get financial advice,

welfare support, and food from the food bank.

It's about making friends here -

creating community.

We are fighting to make Collyhurst a better place.

Nothing gets past this no-nonsense nun,

who's never afraid to say exactly what she thinks...

And if he knows me very well, love, he should be a bit scared of me.

..but is always there for people to turn to when they most need it.

This is what we do at the Lalley Centre.

We come to your house or flat or whatever and then we help you.

While some of the people who come to Sister Rita and her team for

assistance have an obvious or immediate need,

it isn't always that simple.

In the Lalley Centre, you get all types of people coming in.

You get some who never shut up, talking all the time

and you have some who are very, very quiet and rather isolated.

They don't ask you for anything.

You don't know what their needs are because they won't tell you.

There is no hurry. You don't rush people.

You take them at their own pace and when they're ready,

they'll reveal it all.

That's exactly how it's worked out with Michelle Edwards.

Keen to give something back in return for taking food from

the food bank, she's volunteered to give some much-needed help at

the Lalley's new allotment, which it's hoped will soon be supplying

the food bank with fresh fruit and veg.

It's a nice little achievement.

It's nice to see, like, things growing as well.

Until three years ago, Michelle worked in security for major

events and festivals and she relied on her mother to look after her kids

but after her mum became ill and subsequently died, she had to stop

working and now she's struggling to keep up with her mortgage payments.

I got very depressed when my mum passed away.

Um...

I don't know. Kind of lost, if you will, cos she did do a lot.

She looked after, like, my children, whilst I was working.

But Sister Rita doesn't miss a trick

and she's teased out more from Michelle about her personal situation.

The nun's discovered Michelle's been relying on income support

to help pay her mortgage,

leaving her with little money for other food and essentials.

I began to know Michelle more as a person.

There was a reticence to speak about anything to do with herself,

her need, and they say,

you don't take your dirty linen and wash it outside.

This is what they used to say.

You keep it in, no matter how painful.

No matter how hard, you just struggle on.

Well, I'm sorry, but it's not like that any more and we were

never put on the planet to be carrying, you know,

such awful burdens with us and not share them with others.

So, tell me what you need right now.

It's just, really, a single bed.

Who's the single bed for, Michelle?

The bed's for Lincoln, my son.

Right, Michelle, this is what happens.

We get the single bed,

and we get everything that has to go with it, including the pillows

and duvet cover and the duvet

and you can put the duvet cover on yourself.

Furniture is often among the goods

donated to the Lalley to find a deserving home.

And having asked her second-in-command, Max,

to look for a suitable bed for Michelle's son,

Sister Rita heads straight round to deliver it in person.

I hear a lot that children don't have beds.

Sometimes they're looking for a bed for themselves

a lot of the times, but it's very strange,

because you just take it for granted that everybody has a bed.

Well, not...no, they don't.

Two-year-old Lincoln can't wait to see his new bed.

Sister Rita here.

-You can get five hugs.

-Thank you.

Right, we'll get the bed and we'll bring it upstairs.

-Is that OK?

-Yeah.

It's just one basic piece of furniture.

But for Michelle and Lincoln, this bed couldn't mean more

and Sister Rita is pleased she was able to find out

that was what they needed.

You know, a lot of people feel very ashamed to be asking for things.

You could call it pride but pride is OK,

but it hinders a lot of quiet people to ask for things they really need.

And I'm very grateful that we found out from Michelle that she

needs this bed and we're very happy to be able to provide it.

This kind of personal help will always be the focus of the Lalley.

But Sister Rita also has big plans to make

a difference to the community as a whole.

-SHE SINGS ALONG:

-# ..change your mind I'm the first in line

# Honey, I'm still free Take a chance on me... #

Sister Rita first came to Collyhurst in 1961.

When aged just 17, she left her home in Ireland to live in this convent.

I thought I was leaving Cork city and my family forever,

because the sisters didn't go home again.

So this was a life I was about to embrace.

And it wasn't just life as a nun she embraced.

It was the start of a deep attachment to the people living nearby.

I began to get to know the people and you learned about Collyhurst.

You learned about their lives and you learned about their struggle.

From the very start, I got a great appreciation and love for the people

of Collyhurst and I still have it today.

Still have it today.

But Collyhurst has always been a deprived area.

And in recent years, Sister Rita thinks that it's only got worse.

Collyhurst is one of the poorest areas in the country

and has been for quite a long time.

You know, there's nothing in Collyhurst.

There isn't a isn't petrol station,

there isn't a post office, so they have to do an awful lot more

before they make this an area where it's going to be different.

There is a sadness in me as I come around here.

There is a sadness in me when I see things like this.

I've always carried a love of Collyhurst with me

and I hope that for many years, I will be able to work here.

For Sister Rita, one of the most obvious signs of the area's decline

is very close to home -

the run of shops right next to the Lalley's food bank.

One by one, each of the square's retail units has closed,

leaving just the food bank and a cafe, struggling to survive.

Eastford Square.

Oh, what a mess.

So it's here on her doorstep that Sister Rita is hatching perhaps her most ambitious idea yet.

She wants to revive the shops and their place at the centre of the community.

What we're trying to do is bring it back a little bit to what it was.

Maybe we would never be able to bring it back completely,

but at least create places that will draw people and create community.

That's what we want to do here.

The Council plans to demolish the shops within two years

and there's no real prospect

of anyone else making use of them until then,

so Sister Rita is hoping she can find a way to fill at least one of them herself

and in the process, provide work

and training opportunities for local residents.

Once Sister Rita's set her mind to something, there's no stopping her,

regardless of how big the challenge is going to be,

so she wastes no time trying to rally support for her idea.

I thought, wouldn't it be lovely for the people who live at Collyhurst

that they're not going to have, you know, empty shops.

Key to getting the project off the ground

will be winning the support of the Council.

So Sister Rita's arranged a meeting with local Councillor Julie,

and neighbourhood team manager Ann, to try and get their backing

and she is particularly interested in discussing

if she could set things up in a way

that would benefit the whole community,

by running it as a social enterprise,

so that any profits would

automatically go back into the businesses to help them grow.

Was there any possibility that we could do some social enterprise,

so we would have to ask the people here who live in Collyhurst

what really would help you to have on Eastford Square?

It is an opportunity, then, for you to meet a need in the community,

so if people need food or whatever it might be,

you would treat this like any other business.

Yeah.

The thing that makes it different at the end is if you make a profit, you reinvest that.

Sister Rita is delighted

that the social enterprise model fits with her plans.

Her vision is to create voluntary

work opportunities for local residents

while also reinvesting any profit straight back into the shop

and with around 70,000 social enterprises already operating

across the UK, employing nearly one million people,

it's a proven business plan that really works.

If we, in the two years, can actually train up

maybe four or five people, I think that's well worth it.

You know, because if they have a qualification,

they'll get a job quicker.

This is about creating community and changing lives,

so that people feel real again.

They feel human again, they feel part of the community again

and they begin to make friends -

where they didn't before.

Sister Rita is determined that her dream will become a reality,

although making it happen is unlikely to be quick or easy.

But buoyed by the enthusiasm for the idea,

she's heading over to the shops with the Lalley's new fundraiser Lorraine

to take a closer look inside.

Unfortunately, however, the man with the keys hasn't turned up.

He'll be in the lion's den if he doesn't get over here quick!

And Sister Rita doesn't like to be kept waiting.

Can't wait here. Tell him I've loads to do. Hurry up!

Hi. You told me you would phone me before you left the office.

That's what you said. Did you do it?

So whose fault it is that you're in there waiting for me?

I was only five minutes.

Yourself! Yeah, but I'm all worked up about it.

The shops are often targeted by vandals

and have fallen into a state of disrepair

but once finally inside, Sister Rita can still see plenty of potential.

Blimey, I can't believe this!

This is unbelievable, isn't it?

This is brilliant. Honestly!

Look at this room here. You could have storage in here.

It's absolutely brilliant.

One possibility the nun particularly likes

is to turn the space into a shop selling good-as-new items

such as clothes and furniture, to local residents.

This could be, you know, this could be the shop floor.

I think this is brilliant.

And she can't wait to share her ideas with Lorraine.

First of all, you could have the children's clothes here,

adults, men and women and have you seen the storage downstairs?

No, but it's perfect.

Ah, it's unbelievable.

Though at this early stage, her plans have yet to obtain

the Council's approval, Sister Rita is determined that it won't be

long before the shop can once again open its doors to the community.

At the end of the day, you know,

the Council are a mighty volume of people who, you know,

make decisions and who am I, well?

I am Attila the Nun!

I'll shift them!

While she waits to see if this will prove a situation

where she really can shift them,

another of Sister Rita's big community projects, the allotment,

is already providing new opportunities for local couple

Kevin and Donna, who find themselves regulars at the food bank.

The normal family in Collyhurst - lack of a job, a bit of poverty,

a bit of debt, and a struggle, really.

And Donna and Kevin would be that typical kind of a family.

Donna has a number of medical problems which prevent her from

working, including osteoarthritis of the spine and trapped nerves.

It's stopped me from being a mum, stopped me from dressing my kids,

washing them, feeding them.

It's took me pride, me dignity away from me.

I go to a pain management clinic

and I've noticed that they've helped with the pain and anxiety.

I'm grateful for what my doctor and the specialists are helping me with.

D'you want some fruit?

D'you want a banana? You grab this one.

Donna claims disability living allowance

and the couple has come to rely on

the Lalley Centre for some of their family's food.

The money that we do get, that's for bills and then if we don't

come here, we have to miss a bill to get food in for the kids.

The very first time I came down to the food bank, I'll be honest and truthful with you,

I was a bit embarrassed but...and then I thought to myself,

why be embarrassed, because everybody that's coming here is in the same boat.

But Sister Rita strongly believes that in the case of those who

are long-term unemployed, like Donna and Kevin, finding something

that inspires them to get back onto a more positive road is key,

so she was delighted when Kevin revealed that ten years ago, he used

to be a gardener and was interested in helping out at the allotment.

It's absolutely wonderful that they're so interested.

You know, you can't beat that, can you?

You can't even buy it.

And for Kevin, the focus he's got from volunteering at the allotment

has an extra benefit.

In the past, he's struggled with an addiction to alcohol,

which has affected the whole family

so being able to concentrate on his work here has been a huge help.

So the Lalley Centre has really motivated me quite a lot

and it's very, very enjoyable to be doing the work down there.

So, yeah, the Lalley Centre has took all the rust off me.

And I feel happier doing something like that. I'm helping somebody.

I feel better within myself.

Do you want to put that bacon in the fridge?

Despite Kevin's battles,

the couple is determined to keep their family together

and sow the seeds for a new life.

I've been with Kevin now over 11 years.

We've gone through rehab with Kevin twice.

I had the two children there. Kevin couldn't come home and help me out.

I've gone through hell and high water

but we've always had to bounce back up.

Cos there's no-one else going to be there to do it for me.

Got to be strong, got to have a strong will inside you.

While Sister Rita's allotment has given Kevin the chance to

renew a love of the land that has always been there,

Donna's been surprised at how much

she's enjoyed helping out there, too.

Give me some of that.

For her, it's sparked more than just an interest and one that

both Donna and Sister Rita hope

could open up a whole new set of possibilities.

What Donna and Kevin are doing at the allotment is exactly what we've set out to do.

Donna went into this situation

and she's just grown and blossomed

and her, er, her knowledge of the allotment

and her friendliness with people,

so, you know, there's good times ahead for Donna.

And Sister Rita's optimism isn't just confined to the allotment.

She is also hopeful her plans to revive the local shops

will prompt the same enthusiasm from visitors to the Lalley Centre.

Right, are you listening?

If you are interested in helping with Eastford Square shops,

then I want you to put your name here.

Sister Rita knows that to get her idea off the ground,

she needs to have the community behind her.

So she's interested in seeing what sort of businesses

people say they'd most like to be part of.

I would like you to put down

which business you'd like to be involved in. Which shop.

And with local residents very much at the heart of the project,

Sister Rita's asked Lalley Centre fundraiser Lorraine

to do some research into what they think of her plans.

Basic ideas we got were like a greengrocery, bakery,

second-hand shop. How do you feel about that?

Well, there's not much in this area for the local community,

-like the flats.

-Exactly.

-People that live around here.

-Exactly.

Convenience shops, they're all going to be handy for people.

Bakeries, or whatever we have here is going to be handy for the local people.

So locally, you have to go far.

The older generation can't get into town much or even travel,

so I think, you know, these shops would be brilliant for us.

I think it would be great.

Get this square up and running again.

But no matter how impatient Sister Rita may be to forge ahead

with her plans, she's about to get a reality check.

The nun needs funding to pay for the running costs of the shops

and that might not be as simple as Sister Rita hopes.

So she's invited along Margot Power.

Her work at the local resident-led community group Collyhurst Big Local

has meant she's very experienced in funding applications like this

and she hopes to pick her brains about how best to start.

I think the most important thing that you need at the moment

is some seed funding.

That's a small pot of money that will be used

to get your business plan written.

The Council has earmarked the shops for demolition within two years

as part of plans to regenerate the area.

Sister Rita had hoped to put them to good use for the whole of

this period but Margot's keen to manage her expectations,

as there are no guarantees the Council will agree.

You are going to hit a brick wall unless you can establish

a really detailed business case for these properties.

The Council aren't going to hand them over to you.

-They won't and I know that.

-We're not trying to make money here.

-I know.

-We're trying to build a community.

-It's nothing about making money.

-It's nothing like that.

-We're trying to make it easier...

-I know.

..for the people in Collyhurst who are struggling to buy things that they need.

Yes, I know.

Sister Rita has heard of an initiative called the Community Business Fund

which is backed by Lottery cash

and designed to support community-led projects

across the country.

And while Margot knows that applying for this kind of funding can

take time to come to fruition, as far as the nun's concerned,

that's just more time the shops are sitting empty.

You won't get large-scale funding from anybody sooner than six months.

So that means we can't do a dickybird for six months?

No, it means that you need to develop a business plan

and you could be putting all sorts of things in place.

For Sister Rita, champing at the bit to crack on,

none of this is what she wanted to hear.

With any funding decision likely to take months rather than weeks,

the plans for her biggest project yet face an uncertain future.

Margot was a bit negative. She was trying to level me out.

I don't like that, really. I want to be enthusiastic.

I want to, you know, get places. I want to do things.

I was just trying to play devil's advocate with Sister Rita,

really, about the kind of challenges that are in place.

You have lots of blips when you're trying to get things done

and it does take energy out of you

and that's a problem for me at my age,

so I don't want anyone to be holding me back.

I know it's not a very nice way to be, but,

otherwise you get nothing done.

As if one setback wasn't enough, a major obstacle has become apparent

with Sister Rita's other new project - the allotment.

The sun is shining, and Manchester is in the midst of a heatwave.

But there's one big problem.

Water, or rather, the lack of it.

-We've got a slight problem at the moment with water.

-Water, I heard.

We've not got quite as much available water as we'd like.

The allotment has no water main.

And whilst Sister Rita assumed that could be put right,

the utility company says it can't install a new one

because the land is only leased from the council for five years.

It's news that hasn't gone down well.

I got an e-mail last night, I saw it, actually, to say,

"You can't do a water main for the allotment.

"It's only a five-year lease."

So, for five years, all the plants and vegetables

have to die of thirst.

That's it.

'Tis the craziest thing I've ever heard of.

How could you have an allotment without water?

So, in her usual style,

Sister Rita's soon on the phone to try and sort it out.

Does he understand

that it's impinging on us getting this allotment finished?

Have you seen the allotment? It's ginormous, is the word.

We need water on the allotment, so please can you phone me?

Well, you're just gobsmacked, aren't you?

I mean, where do you go from there?

And you're thinking, "What on earth is happening here?

"And what do we do next?"

With the hot weather predicted to last for a couple of weeks,

Sister Rita needs to find a solution to the water crisis, and fast.

-Hello.

-How are you, love? Delighted to see you.

-Hello.

-I'm stressed up to my eyeballs.

-Why? You don't need to be stressed.

I am, yeah. Come on.

So she's asked community worker Peter,

who's been involved in similar schemes in the past, for help.

You need somewhere where a building or greenhouse,

that actually when it rains, feeds that tank.

Cos if you think, over the winter, you'll fill it up,

and then during the summer, you'll drain it and use it, you see.

Sister Rita has got her mind set on a water main

as the best way of making sure the allotment thrives.

But Peter wants to convince her

that a more environmentally friendly solution,

like water butts or containers, might be a decent alternative.

But what we need to do is look at, like,

getting a water butt or a larger water container on the polytunnel.

You know, Manchester's renowned for rain,

so it won't take long to fill up a water butt.

Not so sure about that,

we have had three or four weeks this summer without rain.

Yeah, but you'll be surprised how quickly they fill up,

-and then you've got the actual water from there.

-Yeah.

You know, so I think that's the way you have to go.

So would you actually say you could run an allotment this big

without having a mains?

-I'm not committing to that.

-Well, no, neither am I.

-I don't believe you.

-Because it's a big allotment...

Even if you said yes, I wouldn't believe you.

Sister Rita will get the water situation sorted,

she's quite a dynamic lady.

What she does is, she uses terms like, "Oh, you're my expert,"

and so she hooks you in.

Once she's hooked you in, you know, there's no escape.

With the nun persuaded that water butts could be the answer,

she asks Rebecca from Groundwork,

the charity coordinating the allotment project,

to arrange getting them delivered to the site.

We've got a water butt, which is fantastic.

We can get that filled up.

But it may not be that easy.

Having checked the weather forecast, Rebecca is concerned

there isn't going to be the rainwater they urgently need

to fill the butts and look after the crops.

If it doesn't rain over the weekend and it's hot,

and it looks like this and it's dry,

everything that we've done today is going to need watering.

So Sister Rita springs into action

rounding up the volunteers to carry water to the allotment.

Plants in the polytunnel are dying for lack of water.

Please, go out and get some water and just do them.

Otherwise, they'll all die.

You'll need a bucket or something to fill it up.

You're not going up the steps with that.

If you spill that on the floor - look at me! - you'll be dead.

It's soon all hands on deck,

to keep Sister Rita's hopes of the Lalley's first-ever harvest alive.

It's a great relief, and it's brilliant,

that all the volunteers came together to help.

But that's a temporary arrangement,

and we really do need to get water for the allotment

as soon as we possibly can.

There's a lot of work, another mountain to climb,

but we'll climb it, and we'll get water.

Two volunteers, undeterred by the water crisis,

are Donna and Kevin.

Can we not swap these ones out?

After months of hard work at the allotment,

they're now starting to see the fruits of their labour.

This is the potatoes that we've earthed up at the moment.

These are only new potatoes, so they stay small anyway.

It'll be good to get potatoes in the food bank.

Because it's extra food for them, isn't it?

Kevin's knowledge and experience has been a great help to Rebecca.

But she's noticed that Donna has got the gardening bug, too,

so she hopes to get her even more involved

as the allotment progresses.

It's been fantastic to see Donna coming down,

she's really been inspired by working on the allotment.

She's really taken it, kind of...

almost under her wing, if you like.

Sister Rita had always hoped the allotment would encourage

visitors to the Lalley, like Donna and Kevin,

to get involved in a community project, and, at the same time,

learn new skills to boost not only their confidence,

but also perhaps their future job prospects.

Like Donna, one in nine adults in Britain have no qualifications.

She initially volunteered at the allotment to support her partner Kevin,

and, having been advised to take up light exercise

to help manage her pain from osteoarthritis,

she can't believe how much she's got out of it.

So much so that she's now keen to explore any further

gardening opportunities which might be open to her.

I want to make a better life for me and the kids,

get off the dole and support the kids and myself.

Hopefully, if I go down the right road,

and not turn back,

I can keep going and get somewhere.

Make a change.

But it's one step at a time for Donna.

And before she can even think about work,

she wants to explore getting some qualifications.

So Sister Rita has suggested she visit the Lalley Centre's

weekly job club, run with local charity 4CT,

and set up to provide assistance and encouragement

to those looking for work and training.

And manager Mark is hoping to find a horticultural course

that could develop Donna's new-found gardening skills.

No problem. Let's have a look on there, Donna,

and see what's available there for you.

So, yeah, they're doing a course on a Friday between 12:30 and 6.

-There's another one, Hopwood Hall.

-What's that?

-Hopwood Hall College.

-I've heard of that.

They've got their open day next Thursday.

It's just hard because I haven't got, like,

CVs and stuff, you know...

-I can help you with CVs and stuff.

-Right.

The main thing, they'll want to know about your interest.

For a course like this, they want to know, why do you want to do it,

what is it you like about being in the garden,

getting your hands dirty, all those kinds of things?

-Great. Thank you very much.

-Happy with that?

-Thank you.

-Fantastic.

Booking a place on the college open day is a huge step for Donna,

and one, when she began volunteering at the allotment five months ago,

she never imagined she'd take.

Right. Do I need to give you my details or anything,

or do I just turn up?

That's great. Thank you very much, love.

It's up to me, now, isn't it?

To get the ball rolling.

But I'm buzzing with that.

With her place booked,

she can't wait to share the good news with Sister Rita.

Right, I have to say, Donna, you know,

I'm really impressed with you down at the allotment.

I just think that you've got it, you know, you've really got it.

And, therefore, this would do a lot to help you

enhance your knowledge and help us.

So that's really good news.

Yeah, I do enjoy going down there.

Yeah.

Thank you, Sister.

Watching Donna muck in so eagerly has only confirmed to Sister Rita

what a vital role the allotment could play in the wider community.

More and more, it's becoming evident that people want to do this.

They want to eat what they've grown.

So, with the allotment,

there is that little bit of education going on

that starts very small. But, you know,

something that you start very small can take possession quite quickly,

and to actually encourage them to think,

"Wow, this is good," you know?

The sun rarely shines in Manchester for too long,

and the short-lived drought

is quickly forgotten with a deluge of rain.

And, while that's great timing for the allotment,

it could put a disastrous dampener on Sister Rita's latest attempt

at raising funds for the Lalley.

This Saturday, I want to see every single one of you

at the Toys And Stuff summer fair.

I'm telling you this, there's wonderful, wonderful bargains.

Sister Rita and her team are hoping that an event

selling donated toys and other items to local families

will raise some much-needed cash,

and put a smile on the visitors' faces.

But when they open the doors, all that greets them is the rain.

There's nobody there.

I'll be lucky to raise £100,

the way it's turned out, with the rain and everything else.

But we'll just take it, you know. Play it by ear.

Sometimes people come, sometimes they don't.

And it's too early yet.

Even for a nun like Sister Rita, there's quite a mountain to climb

if this fundraiser is going to be a success.

But with the wet weather showing no signs of stopping,

she knows she'll really have to roll her sleeves up

to squeeze as much profit as she can from the day's activities.

All the way up here, brand-new toys.

T-shirts for £1.

T-shirts for £1.

Well, there's five for £1, or 20p.

Another sale.

£3. In the bag.

This seems to be going quite well,

considering there's only a few in at the minute.

About £60 there, up to now.

After a slow start, the sale raises just over £300.

Some way short of the expected total,

but nothing rains on Sister Rita's parade,

and, as ever, she has another plan up her sleeve.

The school she's held the sale at, in the same building as the Lalley,

has agreed to let her keep the stalls open all week,

so that parents and their children can snap up the remaining items

before and after the school day.

That's OK, because now the head teacher's going to

keep it open every day next week.

Parents will come in and they will be able to buy whatever is there.

The anxiety is kind of...

it's OK, now.

For Sister Rita and her team,

it's vital sales like this one can maximise as much money as possible,

to help keep the Lalley's doors open.

You know, in life,

we have situations like this.

You know, you're struggling uphill, you're struggling up,

and you think you'll never get to the top!

And then, suddenly, you do.

And we're not going to give up. We will plod on.

Yahoo!

APPLAUSE

There you are.

Away from the Lalley,

Donna's heading to the open day at a local further education college.

She's hoping it will help her make her first steps into employment.

I want to get more skills,

and, hopefully, get a job out of it.

Andy Dawson from the college is on hand to give her the grand tour.

Look at the colours in that.

It's beautiful.

What other courses do you do, like, in levels?

-Right, we do the City And Guilds, cos it's industry recognised.

-Right.

-We try and get as much practical as we possibly can.

-Yeah.

Cos you've got to get your hands dirty,

as part of the allotment.

And Donna's willingness to get her hands dirty at the allotment

has left Andy impressed.

Oh, I'll take you home.

So that's the list of everything for you, with the units.

Thank you very much.

Obviously, you're enthusiastic, very keen,

and I would have no problem in offering you a place

on the Level I or Level II.

Right, thank you very much.

Completing a qualification like this one will give Donna the experience

she needs to pursue a potential career in horticulture.

As she is currently unemployed and claiming benefits,

Donna can sign up for the Level I course for free,

as she's an adult learner and over 24 years old.

She's bowled over by this unexpected but life-changing opportunity.

Size of that!

I want to do something different.

I want to learn more.

That allotment's got me green fingers tickling, now. I love it.

I can't wait to come here.

I will, I'll be here twice a week.

It's just fascinating, this place.

Donna's got a tremendous amount of life.

And she's got ambitions,

which I think is wonderful to see in a young woman.

She's going places, her.

She is going to get a job.

She wants to do horticulture.

And that is, to me, music, really.

Seeing the fortunes of visitors to the Lalley improve

will always delight Sister Rita.

But she's still determined to bring about change

to Collyhurst as a whole.

And she's not given up on her plans for the row of shops

next to the food bank on Eastford Square,

even if being without both the necessary funding and a viable business plan

makes that seem an almost insurmountable challenge.

I always bite off more than I can chew

when I'm doing any project. Always.

I always start it without money.

I know this is very dangerous and I know that,

and they tell me that all the time.

And my answer is, well, then, you'd never do it.

Because you're not going to get the money.

But if you do it, you will get the money.

That's how I see it.

But just when her latest idea appeared to have hit a brick wall,

a first-time visitor to the Lalley throws the project a lifeline.

When commercial property lawyer Gisella Alberici

called in to deliver a donation on behalf of her family,

the eagle-eyed nun immediately spotted an opportunity

and roped her into helping get her plans for the shops back on track.

She is somebody you can't say no to,

because she's got such force and drive.

So when somebody comes in with, like, an expertise,

I just think I've struck gold.

And I want them on the team.

Well, you can't buy them, but the good news is,

we don't even have to buy them because they come voluntarily.

Beat that, if you can.

With Gisella more than happy to volunteer her legal skills,

for the first time, it feels like Sister Rita's plans

for the shops might be more than just a pipe dream.

It's a big project, but the more you look at it,

the more you think about it,

with all the support and help from the community, the volunteers,

obviously, there's an awful lot of love here for Sister Rita

and what she does.

It's very deliverable, but it's very deliverable in chunks.

So you've got to open one shop at a time.

Having been asked by sister Rita to find someone who could

put together a sound business plan to present to the council,

Gisella's got the very man for the job,

and brings community development worker Steve Conway

down to the site.

-This is Steve, who...

-Hello, Steve.

-Good morning, again.

-Welcome.

-You all right?

You're going to write a business plan for us? He is.

Well, we'll see what we can do, eh?

Steve specialises in helping charities like the Lalley Centre

get community projects off the ground,

and make sure they're run in a safe, sustainable way.

This is about saying, "If we're going to do this,

"we're an organisation that CAN do it,

"we can do it safely, we can do it legally,

"we're not going to expose the community to risk."

You know, so, "This is going to be managed properly,

"this is going to be led properly,

"and this is going to have the effects that we want it to have.

-"Because we've got the team in place that can do it."

-Got it.

Most of the shops have been empty for some time.

So Sister Rita wants to know what Steve thinks she needs to do

to ensure they're safe to open the doors.

-Just in terms of thinking about the units themselves...

-Yeah?

Are you talking about going, one, two, three, four,

-or are you thinking about...?

-No.

We're picking out the ones that need nothing doing to them.

And this is where it comes back down to this idea of trying to get

a pro bono survey of the internal fabric,

-because what looks good, might not be good.

-Right, OK.

If Steve is able to help Sister Rita sort a structural survey,

she'll know what can realistically be achieved for the whole block,

and, best of all, identify which shops she should target first.

-Before you make any choices, get the survey.

-We're on it!

Sister Rita's a little dynamo.

She really is.

Very determined, very, very driven,

and very clear ideas about what she wants to do.

I think it's a brilliant little idea, really do.

You know, we've got a few weeks to spend on this,

we'll be able to put the ideas the Lalley have down into

something which the council will be able to understand,

review, make a decision on and, hopefully, as a result of which,

give them short-term licences to occupy the shops.

Finally, when some were starting to think it wasn't going to be

possible, Sister Rita has found two people who firmly believe

in her vision to transform Eastford Square.

Although the hard work is just beginning,

her dream of revitalising the shops to bring the community together

and provide new opportunities for local residents

appears one step closer to reality,

with the Lalley Centre visitors behind her every step of the way.

The shops are very important to the people that live round about,

especially the elderly.

If we have a bit of everything, then everyone'll, like,

class it as the local shops.

She is determined. She's driven.

And she usually does succeed in the end.

Other people would give up by now, you know, but she hasn't.

Yes, she's just a very, very special lady.

She's an inspiration to all of us.

It seems Sister Rita's projects are on a roll

because there's been a big new development at the allotment, too.

The nun's hopes of growing fresh produce to supply the food bank

have truly come to fruition,

with the first crops arriving on the shelves.

We are going over to the food bank,

to see all the lettuces they've picked from the allotment,

and I think a lot of the people will have got some.

Isn't that wonderful?

So they can try a bit of both.

It's the freshness of smelling them.

They're gorgeous!

I have never seen anyone so excited as Donna

when we had the first lettuces.

But the joy in her heart,

and the joy on her face,

and the joy in her voice,

was worth thousands.

And the people, they were delighted that for the first time since

we opened the Lalley Centre, we had produce from our own allotment.

Right, come on now. No messing.

This is fresh lettuce from the allotment.

Don't forget to wash them. OK?

Sister Rita is a firm believer that you only get out of things

what you put in.

So, as she celebrates where the team's efforts have got them so far,

she's already thinking about how to ensure that home-grown produce

becomes a familiar sight at the food bank.

This is what the allotment is all about.

Fresh produce, every week,

to put into the food bank,

so we're very happy about it.

And it'll...

There'll be more coming in, really,

as soon as the crop begins to grow,

there will be different vegetables coming in.

So, that's a great achievement for the Lalley Centre.

And we still hope to go further than that,

and maybe the fruits we will get as well.

So, it'll take time, but it will happen.

Next time...

Sister Rita helps a man tackle big problems with debt...

What you must not do is not be able to feed yourself,

and not have electricity.

..and, as the nun makes it her mission to show it is possible

to eat well on a budget...

Turkey burgers. Ooh, isn't that gorgeous?

..she launches a cookery course to help locals make the most

of what they get from the food bank.

Those people here who are determined to learn to how to cook,

they are making a difference to their families.

And I think that that's wonderful.