A Burngreave resident who has helped numerous local parents into education is celebrating her success after receiving a special award at a glittering national awards ceremony.
The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister’s (ODPM) New Deal for Communities and Neighbourhood Management Awards 2005, held in London and hosted by Baroness Andrews, Minister in the ODPM, saw Burngreave resident Rashida Hassanali win the Personal Achievement for a Resident Award for her work with Burngreave New Deal for Communities (BNDfC).
A mother of three young children who all attend Firs Hill School in Burngreave, Rashida started her community work as a volunteer after getting involved in her children’s learning. The school was struggling with little engagement from parents so Rashida helped to establish the first parent-education course.
After a year as a volunteer, Rashida started paid-work through a BNDfC funded project as a community education co-ordinator at Firs Hill and another local school, St Catherine’s Primary.
Three years on from setting up the very first course as a volunteer, there are about 20 courses at both schools ranging from Islamic Textile Design to Move into Social Care. All the courses are driven by the desire of parents and other local people to build self-confidence, gain qualifications, have the chance of getting job, support their children’s education and expand their interests. Rashida also organised a crèche to support these classes and works extremely closely with teachers to help develop the curriculum materials to enable parents to support their children’s education.
Says Rashida: “I am really pleased to receive this award because I am aware of how much potential there is in the community here. The things holding people back are their lack of confidence, not recognising the skills they already have, and possibly childcare.
“My position allows me to tap into this potential for the good of the entire area, as well as the individuals concerned.
“It frustrates me to think that there’s so much talent in this area – people who can sew, cook, sing, play instruments, speak numerous languages and are skilled trades people – yet this isn’t given the credence that it would get in some other areas of the city.
“But we’re trying to change that and increase people’s confidence as well as their skills – it definitely gives me a lot of job satisfaction. It’s very positive for me because I live in this community and I can see what a difference these learning opportunities have made.”
John Clark, BNDfC Chief Executive, said: “I am absolutely delighted that Rashida’s hard work and dedication has been honoured in this way. She is a local resident who has committed so much of her time for the best interests of parents and their children from this community.
“On behalf of Burngreave New Deal for Communities, I would like to say many congratulations to Rashida for all her efforts – this achievement really is a reflection of the excellent and wide-ranging work that is taking place in Burngreave.”
The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister’s New Deal for Communities and Neighbourhood Management Awards 2005 recognise dedicated individuals and teams who are striving to improve the lives of people in their communities.