The daughter of a Nigerian chieftain is on a mission to help the people of Swale.

Christine Locke was brought up in a palace when her late father was king of an Igbo tribe in west Africa.

She met her husband while working at London's Millennium Dome and experienced racism when she first arrived in the country.

But now, settled in Sittingbourne, she wants to improve lives and is the driving force behind Diversity House.

Last month she enlisted Andrew Brittain, a former community engagement and social inclusion officer at Swale council, to help turn her dream into reality as the charity’s projects and development manager.

He said: “What we do has to be by the people for the people.”

Diversity House moved into the abandoned ISP school in Church Street after its former base in Phoenix House was closed by Kent County Council, which labelled it unfit for purpose.

Christine, 57, said: “It was in the middle of Covid. We had nowhere to go but we were still delivering services to people.”

Then she received a phone call "out of the blue" offering her the use of the old school. She initially moved into just the old library room in January 2021 but has now refurbished the whole building.

She says the costs to run it are dramatically increasing because of the charity's rapid expansion. To help offset some of that, it has been awarded £432,104 from the government’s UK Community Renewal Fund to offer employability and up-skilling support between now and the end of June.

Other organisations have also donated goods and support. Andrew said: “We are now in a good position to open our doors to all residents to help them turn their lives around.”

On Friday they staged an open day attended by more than 100 guests including the mayor and mayoress of Swale, Cllrs Paul and Sarah Stephen.

They said: “We always give Christine our full support.”

So how did Christine end up in north Kent?

She was working at the Millennium Dome when she met her husband Patrick, an Englishman and retired Royal Engineer with a home in Sittingbourne.

She said: “In those early days I met people who told me to go back to my own country. And some of my husband’s friends stopped playing football with him. But I just put it down to pure ignorance. I never took it personally.”

She set up Diversity House 15 years ago in memory of her late mother who was not only a queen but also a medical practitioner.

She said: “I saw how both my parents helped the community and brought smiles to people’s faces. It was a lovely legacy. It’s not about how much money you have in the bank.”

Her aim is to address social inequalities and deprivation and to promote integration, cohesion and harmony to pull communities together.

She said: “We may all be different but we are all similar. Race, gender and class don’t matter. What matters is that we are all human beings.”

Diversity House stands for innovation and empowerment.

Recently her team spent £15,000 on bikes so a group of women could learn to ride to boost their independence.

The new premises boast electric sewing machines, yoga classes, drop-in sessions, an internet cafe with a bank of computers to learn IT skills, a boardroom for meetings and spaces where groups can meet.

There are classes for business skills, CV writing, financial literacy, citizenship - and a crèche next door at Little Acorns.

She hopes the new location will become a one-stop shop for help and guidance and wants other groups to use it.

She said: “The reaction to what we are doing here has been fantastic. I was lost for words, and anyone who knows me knows I’m never lost for words!”

The UK Community Renewal Fund is a UK Government programme for 2021/22 to support people and communities most in need to pilot programmes and new approaches to prepare for the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. It invests in skills, community and place, local business, and helps people into employment.

For details email info@diversityhouse.org.uk or call 01795 420455.