0:00:02 > 0:00:03Excuse me, hello.
0:00:03 > 0:00:06I was wondering, I'd like to give you these for the weekend,
0:00:06 > 0:00:08- just to enjoy.- Thank you very much.
0:00:08 > 0:00:11As Lent gets underway, on this week's Songs Of Praise,
0:00:11 > 0:00:14we'll be focusing on the importance of kindness.
0:00:14 > 0:00:16Would either of you like a slice?
0:00:16 > 0:00:17I'm in Congresbury in Somerset,
0:00:17 > 0:00:21which has been dubbed the kindest village in the whole of Britain
0:00:21 > 0:00:26and I'll be discovering how faith motivates people's generosity.
0:00:26 > 0:00:30I feel happy for myself once I do it, so it makes me feel proud.
0:00:31 > 0:00:34Ade Adepitan talks to a businesswoman
0:00:34 > 0:00:37who's helping victims of people trafficking.
0:00:37 > 0:00:40To have gone through...well, literally gone to hell and back
0:00:40 > 0:00:43and still be in such great spirits,
0:00:43 > 0:00:44they astound me.
0:00:45 > 0:00:49And the guitarist Graeme Duffin from '90s chart toppers Wet Wet Wet
0:00:49 > 0:00:52reveals how he's conquering his stammer.
0:00:52 > 0:00:56I'm doing a speech therapy assignment just now
0:00:56 > 0:01:00and Graeme Duffin is my name.
0:01:00 > 0:01:01Thank you for listening.
0:01:10 > 0:01:15And we'll also have a fabulous mix of music, including hymns for Lent.
0:01:15 > 0:01:18We start in Ballymena in Northern Ireland
0:01:18 > 0:01:20with a real worship favourite.
0:04:01 > 0:04:04Now, we're already five days into Lent,
0:04:04 > 0:04:09a time which is traditionally about giving things up like chocolate.
0:04:09 > 0:04:11But there's a new drive,
0:04:11 > 0:04:13with campaigns like the 40acts Challenge,
0:04:13 > 0:04:16which encourages people to do generous deeds for others
0:04:16 > 0:04:18on each day of Lent.
0:04:18 > 0:04:20And here in Congresbury in Somerset,
0:04:20 > 0:04:23the villagers have been dubbed the kindest in Britain,
0:04:23 > 0:04:27because they've taken the art of giving to a whole new level.
0:04:30 > 0:04:32Excuse me, hello.
0:04:32 > 0:04:34I was wondering, I'd like to give you these for the weekend,
0:04:34 > 0:04:35just to enjoy.
0:04:35 > 0:04:38- Thank you very much.- OK, bye-bye.
0:04:38 > 0:04:40Here it's not just for the 40 days of Lent
0:04:40 > 0:04:43that villagers carry out good turns.
0:04:43 > 0:04:44They do it every day,
0:04:44 > 0:04:46whether it's sprucing up the community,
0:04:46 > 0:04:49or brightening up someone's day.
0:04:49 > 0:04:50I've brought you a carrot cake.
0:04:50 > 0:04:52Thank you very much!
0:04:52 > 0:04:56Their campaign of kindness started here at St Andrew's Church
0:04:56 > 0:04:59and it was the brainchild of vicar Matthew Thomson.
0:05:01 > 0:05:05Last year we celebrated our 800th anniversary as a church
0:05:05 > 0:05:08and as part of that, we wanted to create a legacy
0:05:08 > 0:05:10for the coming years,
0:05:10 > 0:05:12not just doing events throughout the year,
0:05:12 > 0:05:15and it came out of that, the idea of having 800 acts of kindness
0:05:15 > 0:05:19to share the blessing, the love around the village.
0:05:19 > 0:05:20And you had a whole weekend
0:05:20 > 0:05:23just for the people who live in the village, didn't you?
0:05:23 > 0:05:28We did and I was amazed at how many people turned out with paintbrushes
0:05:28 > 0:05:30and all sorts of other gardening stuff
0:05:30 > 0:05:33and we cleared up a lot of the rubbish around the village,
0:05:33 > 0:05:35we painted a lot of fences and everything like that.
0:05:35 > 0:05:37A really good weekend.
0:05:37 > 0:05:40Some fruit buns. Have they got butter in those?
0:05:40 > 0:05:44All good deeds are registered on a special totaliser inside the church.
0:05:44 > 0:05:47Having reached their target for 2015,
0:05:47 > 0:05:49now they're committed to doubling that figure
0:05:49 > 0:05:52of 800 kind acts in the coming year.
0:05:52 > 0:05:55Doing these acts of random kindness, you're not doing them for you,
0:05:55 > 0:05:56you are doing them for other people.
0:05:56 > 0:05:59You don't always know how other people are going to react to them,
0:05:59 > 0:06:00how they're going to feel about them,
0:06:00 > 0:06:04but you're doing it because you know it's the right thing to do.
0:06:04 > 0:06:06It's been brilliant for encouraging the children,
0:06:06 > 0:06:07opening their eyes to what they can do
0:06:07 > 0:06:09and what they're already doing
0:06:09 > 0:06:11that they wouldn't necessarily have realised
0:06:11 > 0:06:14was a nice thing to be doing for someone, that was helping them.
0:06:14 > 0:06:15- Is this the car?- Yep.
0:06:15 > 0:06:18I'm joining up with a group of young villagers
0:06:18 > 0:06:21who've arranged with a neighbour to wash his car.
0:06:22 > 0:06:27Gemma, how do people react to a stranger offering you kindness?
0:06:27 > 0:06:30I think initially, their thoughts are like,
0:06:30 > 0:06:32"Why is this stranger doing it for me?"
0:06:32 > 0:06:35But once they know what we do is actually genuine,
0:06:35 > 0:06:39I think they feel more at ease and they feel more confident.
0:06:39 > 0:06:42What reward do you get from these random acts of kindness?
0:06:42 > 0:06:45Well, I think it's just seeing the expressions
0:06:45 > 0:06:47that people have on their faces
0:06:47 > 0:06:49and everyone just appreciates each other more.
0:06:49 > 0:06:52- Hi, David!- Hello, Connie!- Come on.
0:06:52 > 0:06:54'Having your car washed is one thing,
0:06:54 > 0:06:57'but David Anderson's been moved by Gemma's kindness
0:06:57 > 0:06:59'at testing times too.'
0:06:59 > 0:07:01Oh, look, they're busy!
0:07:01 > 0:07:03And I received
0:07:03 > 0:07:05something really special from Gemma.
0:07:05 > 0:07:07I was in the church and...
0:07:09 > 0:07:11..we'd just lost a very good friend
0:07:11 > 0:07:15and she came up to me and she said, "Somebody needs a hug."
0:07:15 > 0:07:17- Aww.- And she put her arms round me
0:07:17 > 0:07:18and gave me a hug
0:07:18 > 0:07:20and I've not forgotten it.
0:07:20 > 0:07:21That's special, really.
0:07:22 > 0:07:25Are they the kindest villagers in Britain?
0:07:25 > 0:07:27They're not bad,
0:07:27 > 0:07:29but I wouldn't say we're the kindest.
0:07:29 > 0:07:32I think there are many people who do incredible things
0:07:32 > 0:07:34and all I would hope from doing all this
0:07:34 > 0:07:37is that people everywhere will actually perhaps think about
0:07:37 > 0:07:39doing something kind this week.
0:10:29 > 0:10:31- NEWS ANCHOR:- 'Let me remind you
0:10:31 > 0:10:33'of the BBC's main news headlines tonight.'
0:10:33 > 0:10:35'Human trafficking is a global problem...'
0:10:35 > 0:10:36'Most victims arrive by plane...'
0:10:36 > 0:10:38'But someone who is trafficked
0:10:38 > 0:10:41'can make tens of thousands of pounds for gangs.'
0:10:41 > 0:10:45Every year, thousands of people are trafficked into the UK
0:10:45 > 0:10:48and then they're forced to work for the criminals
0:10:48 > 0:10:50who smuggled them into the country.
0:10:53 > 0:10:55It's a form of modern-day slavery,
0:10:55 > 0:11:00where the victims can even be bought and sold by a criminal underworld.
0:11:00 > 0:11:04Women and, shockingly, children are regularly forced
0:11:04 > 0:11:09to work in the sex industry and the men are used as free labour.
0:11:11 > 0:11:14This woman from west Africa was facing the prospect
0:11:14 > 0:11:18of a forced marriage when she was offered a way out -
0:11:18 > 0:11:20a plane ticket and a job in London.
0:11:20 > 0:11:23Thankfully, when she landed at Heathrow,
0:11:23 > 0:11:25sharp-eyed officials intervened
0:11:25 > 0:11:27before the traffickers could take her away.
0:11:27 > 0:11:30Her face and voice have been disguised.
0:11:32 > 0:11:36One of the immigration officers, she saw me when I was crying
0:11:36 > 0:11:38and she asked me, "What is the problem?"
0:11:38 > 0:11:40And I explained to her and she said,
0:11:40 > 0:11:43"OK, I need to contact the Salvation Army for you."
0:11:46 > 0:11:50But even in a Salvation Army safe house, the traffickers contacted her
0:11:50 > 0:11:54after her family unwittingly passed on her phone number.
0:11:54 > 0:11:59They started contacting me, threatening me.
0:11:59 > 0:12:02What have they been saying, what's happened?
0:12:02 > 0:12:06They said they would go to Nigeria and destroy my family.
0:12:06 > 0:12:09- Are you afraid?- Yes, I'm afraid.
0:12:13 > 0:12:16This woman is also from Africa.
0:12:16 > 0:12:19It was only when she arrived in the UK that the true reason
0:12:19 > 0:12:23she had been brought here was revealed to her.
0:12:23 > 0:12:26When we reached the airport, there was a man and a lady.
0:12:26 > 0:12:30They took me to their house and said, "Before you get out of here,
0:12:30 > 0:12:33"you have to pay back our money for the ticket."
0:12:33 > 0:12:36They made me like a sex slave, sleeping with men.
0:12:43 > 0:12:44Sorry.
0:12:47 > 0:12:50Her captors made her believe that the police would kill her
0:12:50 > 0:12:52if she left their house.
0:12:52 > 0:12:54She was held captive for five years
0:12:54 > 0:12:58before one of her clients helped her escape.
0:12:58 > 0:13:01When all of this was happening,
0:13:01 > 0:13:03how were you able to survive?
0:13:05 > 0:13:07God was always there for me, really,
0:13:07 > 0:13:10cos I was praying that one day I'd be somewhere safe.
0:13:12 > 0:13:14If it was not for God, I couldn't be here.
0:13:16 > 0:13:17So your faith kept you strong?
0:13:19 > 0:13:22- And helped you survive?- Yes.
0:13:26 > 0:13:29Now both these women have found a safe haven,
0:13:29 > 0:13:30offering hope for the future.
0:13:34 > 0:13:37They're getting work experience with Rachel Salway,
0:13:37 > 0:13:39who runs a business making jewellery
0:13:39 > 0:13:42and selling ethically produced products.
0:13:42 > 0:13:44- Hi, Rachel, how are you?- I'm OK.
0:13:44 > 0:13:48We work with them to give them workshops,
0:13:48 > 0:13:50confidence-building,
0:13:50 > 0:13:52jewellery-making.
0:13:54 > 0:13:57I don't know about the future, I just leave it to God,
0:13:57 > 0:14:00because what God has started, he will finish it.
0:14:00 > 0:14:04So I will have a good future, by the grace of God.
0:14:04 > 0:14:08And we're going to twist that around... Oops! No, we're not.
0:14:08 > 0:14:12They amaze me. They make me laugh, they make me cry.
0:14:12 > 0:14:16To have gone through...well, literally gone to hell and back,
0:14:16 > 0:14:20and still be in such great spirits,
0:14:20 > 0:14:21they astound me.
0:16:52 > 0:16:55CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:16:57 > 0:17:01Coming up, Wet Wet Wet guitarist Graeme Duffin reveals
0:17:01 > 0:17:04how his faith is helping him to conquer his stammer.
0:17:04 > 0:17:06First, though, we've more music.
0:19:02 > 0:19:06Graeme Duffin is probably best known as the guitarist of Wet Wet Wet,
0:19:06 > 0:19:10whose version of Love Is All Around topped the charts
0:19:10 > 0:19:12for 15 weeks back in 1994,
0:19:12 > 0:19:15but it's a lesser-known fact that for years,
0:19:15 > 0:19:18Graeme has battled to conquer his stammer.
0:19:18 > 0:19:20He's benefitted from attending a programme
0:19:20 > 0:19:23which helps stammerers manage their speech,
0:19:23 > 0:19:26and for Graeme, it's had remarkable results.
0:19:26 > 0:19:29# Love is all around me
0:19:29 > 0:19:34# And so the feeling grows... #
0:19:34 > 0:19:38It's more than 20 years since Wet Wet Wet's best-known single
0:19:38 > 0:19:40dominated the number one spot.
0:19:41 > 0:19:45And now, Graeme is heading back out on tour with the rest of the band
0:19:45 > 0:19:49- to play their greatest hits again. - I keep thinking...
0:19:49 > 0:19:52this has to be the last one,
0:19:52 > 0:19:55but I've been saying that for 15 years.
0:20:02 > 0:20:07But since the age of seven, Graeme has had to overcome a stutter.
0:20:07 > 0:20:10He's been shown how to through a special programme
0:20:10 > 0:20:12which he took up nearly 16 years ago.
0:20:13 > 0:20:18I often think of the parallel between the McGuire Programme
0:20:18 > 0:20:25and church, as it should be, where it's a genuine community of people.
0:20:25 > 0:20:30There's a real strong common connection,
0:20:30 > 0:20:34because stammering's a very levelling thing
0:20:34 > 0:20:39and it's no respecter of race, colour, creed, social position, job.
0:20:39 > 0:20:42After three, two, one...breathe.
0:20:42 > 0:20:45- THEY INHALE - And release and pause.
0:20:45 > 0:20:48Students wear chest belts to control their breathing
0:20:48 > 0:20:51and part of the process is not trying to hide the stutter,
0:20:51 > 0:20:54a technique they call deliberate disfluency.
0:20:55 > 0:20:57I make a practice of doing...
0:20:58 > 0:21:00..deliberate disfluency...
0:21:01 > 0:21:03..every day.
0:21:03 > 0:21:06It keeps me honest with my...
0:21:06 > 0:21:11myself and my listener that I'm not a fluent...speaker.
0:21:11 > 0:21:13APPLAUSE
0:21:13 > 0:21:16Now, as a programme tutor, he often takes out new students
0:21:16 > 0:21:19to show them how to cope with speaking in public.
0:21:19 > 0:21:24Excuse me, I'm doing a speech therapy assignment...
0:21:24 > 0:21:26Excuse me, I'm...
0:21:26 > 0:21:31doing a speech therapy assignment just now
0:21:31 > 0:21:35and I have to practise my name with 100 people.
0:21:36 > 0:21:39Graeme Duffin is my name.
0:21:39 > 0:21:40Thank you for listening.
0:21:40 > 0:21:43The letter which still gives Graeme the most trouble
0:21:43 > 0:21:45is the letter D.
0:21:45 > 0:21:46Debenhams department store?
0:21:46 > 0:21:49You just keep going straight down that road and then you get to it.
0:21:49 > 0:21:53Thanks for stopping. Brilliant, thank you.
0:21:53 > 0:21:55- That was well done.- Good.- Yeah.
0:21:55 > 0:22:00See how when you maintain the eye contact,
0:22:00 > 0:22:05people are quite comfortable with my deliberate disfluency,
0:22:05 > 0:22:08because I'm comfortable with it?
0:22:08 > 0:22:11Debenhams department store in Dundee!
0:22:11 > 0:22:14Since doing the McGuire Programme,
0:22:14 > 0:22:18I've spoken at four weddings and a funeral.
0:22:18 > 0:22:21Well, it was actually only three weddings and a funeral.
0:22:22 > 0:22:24My personal point of view -
0:22:24 > 0:22:26I'm always of the opinion that
0:22:26 > 0:22:28wherever truth is spoken out in love,
0:22:28 > 0:22:33that God shows up and that's a personal thing.
0:22:33 > 0:22:36Graeme Duffin is my name.
0:22:36 > 0:22:39One thing Graeme's never struggled to do is sing
0:22:39 > 0:22:42and here he is now with a brand-new song.
0:22:42 > 0:22:46# Who can compare with God?
0:22:48 > 0:22:52# Maker of heaven and Earth
0:22:54 > 0:22:58# Fountain of light and life
0:23:00 > 0:23:04# Beautiful beyond all worth
0:23:05 > 0:23:08# Like flowers in the field
0:23:08 > 0:23:11# We bloom and then we fade
0:23:11 > 0:23:16# Who can save themselves?
0:23:17 > 0:23:20# How long
0:23:20 > 0:23:23# Before your will is done?
0:23:23 > 0:23:25# How long
0:23:25 > 0:23:28# Till justice comes?
0:23:28 > 0:23:32# How long
0:23:32 > 0:23:37# Before this fragile world is changed and renewed?
0:23:37 > 0:23:42# Reflecting your beauty and grace
0:23:46 > 0:23:50# Who can compare with God?
0:23:52 > 0:23:56# Born as a refugee
0:23:58 > 0:24:02# No place to call his home
0:24:03 > 0:24:08# Suffering on Calvary
0:24:09 > 0:24:12# Like flowers in the field
0:24:12 > 0:24:15# We bloom and then we fade
0:24:15 > 0:24:20# Who can save themselves?
0:24:21 > 0:24:25# How long
0:24:25 > 0:24:27# Before your will is done?
0:24:27 > 0:24:29# How long
0:24:29 > 0:24:32# Till justice comes?
0:24:32 > 0:24:36# How long
0:24:36 > 0:24:41# Before this fragile world is changed and renewed?
0:24:41 > 0:24:45# Reflecting your beauty and grace
0:24:50 > 0:24:54# Who can compare with God?
0:24:56 > 0:25:00# Hope in the deepest pain
0:25:02 > 0:25:07# Comfort to those who mourn
0:25:07 > 0:25:12# Oh, Lord, let your kingdom reign
0:25:13 > 0:25:17# How long
0:25:17 > 0:25:19# Before your will is done?
0:25:19 > 0:25:22# How long
0:25:22 > 0:25:24# Till justice comes?
0:25:24 > 0:25:28# How long
0:25:28 > 0:25:34# Before this fragile world is changed and renewed?
0:25:34 > 0:25:38# Reflecting your beauty and grace. #
0:25:47 > 0:25:51Earlier I discovered how faith is inspiring the residents
0:25:51 > 0:25:54of the village of Congresbury in Somerset to carry out
0:25:54 > 0:25:57hundreds of random acts of kindness for others.
0:25:58 > 0:26:01Well, now I've come to its primary school
0:26:01 > 0:26:03to team up with my very own band of little helpers
0:26:03 > 0:26:06who are going to help me spring a special surprise
0:26:06 > 0:26:08on some deserving villagers.
0:26:08 > 0:26:11- Hey, guys! ALL:- Hi!
0:26:11 > 0:26:14Who's ready to make a cake?
0:26:14 > 0:26:15- ALL:- Me!
0:26:15 > 0:26:18- Let's get baking, then! ALL:- Yeah!
0:26:18 > 0:26:21The kids are rustling up a sweet treat for some pensioners
0:26:21 > 0:26:23at a village coffee morning.
0:26:23 > 0:26:26- Is it nice doing these acts of kindness? ALL:- Yeah!
0:26:26 > 0:26:30It makes people feel happy and I feel happy for myself once I do it,
0:26:30 > 0:26:32so it makes me feel proud.
0:26:32 > 0:26:37And it's very nice to help the elderly that can't do stuff.
0:26:37 > 0:26:40And how old is elderly? Do I class as elderly?
0:26:41 > 0:26:42- No.- Oh.
0:26:42 > 0:26:45And what are they going to do when they see our big cake?
0:26:45 > 0:26:47- They're going to scream!- Scream?
0:26:47 > 0:26:49- Happy tears, maybe? ALL:- Yeah!
0:26:50 > 0:26:53The children look like real budding bakers,
0:26:53 > 0:26:56but, sadly, I'm having a few kitchen calamities.
0:26:56 > 0:26:57Oh!
0:26:57 > 0:26:59CHILDREN GIGGLE
0:26:59 > 0:27:03They've worked wonders on the mix, so now it's time to bake that cake.
0:27:05 > 0:27:06In she goes.
0:27:06 > 0:27:09And soon, it looks like we're in business.
0:27:10 > 0:27:12SHE SNIFFS
0:27:12 > 0:27:14Oh, they're going to love this!
0:27:14 > 0:27:16INDISTINCT CONVERSATION
0:27:17 > 0:27:21After a few final flourishes with the decorations,
0:27:21 > 0:27:23it's time to head off to spring our surprise.
0:27:27 > 0:27:29I can't wait to see their faces!
0:27:31 > 0:27:32Good morning, everyone!
0:27:32 > 0:27:34- CHILDREN:- Hi!
0:27:35 > 0:27:38The kids and I have baked you a little surprise.
0:27:39 > 0:27:41Ooh!
0:27:41 > 0:27:45What effect have these random acts of kindness had on the village?
0:27:45 > 0:27:49Oh, fantastic. Everybody is very, very happy
0:27:49 > 0:27:52and they feel part of the whole community because of that,
0:27:52 > 0:27:55because everyone knows that there is someone they can turn to.
0:27:55 > 0:27:59- Would either of you like a slice? - I'd love a slice, yes, please.
0:27:59 > 0:28:02We never know what's going on in somebody else's life
0:28:02 > 0:28:06and just to be able to say hello to somebody could be the difference
0:28:06 > 0:28:08between them having a good day and not a good day.
0:28:08 > 0:28:11I like this random act thing - makes me feel good about myself.
0:28:11 > 0:28:13LAUGHTER
0:28:13 > 0:28:15It does make you feel good about yourself,
0:28:15 > 0:28:17- but at the same time helping others. - Yeah.
0:30:55 > 0:30:57Well, that's just about it for today.
0:30:57 > 0:31:01Next week, as the Church of England faces up to the problem
0:31:01 > 0:31:05of declining attendances at services, we'll be in London
0:31:05 > 0:31:10to find out why one church has opened its own post office,
0:31:10 > 0:31:13but we end today with a fantastic modern worship song
0:31:13 > 0:31:16from Southampton. Thanks very much for watching.
0:31:32 > 0:31:34I lay my life down!
0:31:59 > 0:32:00One way!
0:32:14 > 0:32:16Yeah!
0:32:20 > 0:32:22You're always!
0:32:34 > 0:32:35Hey!
0:32:47 > 0:32:48Yeah!
0:33:20 > 0:33:22CHEERING AND APPLAUSE