Playing for Success Children's University Celebration

Girls from BGHS whom I presented certificates to at the Children's University Graduation

Today was the graduation event for the Playing for Success scheme which runs at the five sports clubs' study centres in Kirklees. These are the three professional rugby clubs, the Giants, the Rams and the Bulldogs, Huddersfield Town Football Club and The LongbridgeTennis Centre.

The study centres work with children who are referred because they lack motivation at school and are low-achievers in the usual learning environment. However they do work well in the sports club environment, close to their sporting heroes and the evidence is clear that attainment and aspiration is significantly raised.

Some children at each centre, work on achieving a qualification from the University of Huddersfield and this was their big celebration. I could see the children's parents and families were proud of them. There was a group from Batley Girls' High School and I felt proud that young people from my community had achieved so much.

It is important that they recognize their progress and take pride in their accomplishments. My advice is share your achievements with others. Why not brag about it!

I hope that the recognition and support of their families will spur them on to greater things and that this will be the first step in a long journey to even more success.

Well done everyone and well done to Playing for Success!

Faith Forum Cheque Presentation to disabled athletes

Today I had the pleasure of meeting some talented sportsmen who have disabilities and see them being presented with cheques.  It was a special presentation event at Huddersfield Town Hall, hosted by the Mayor and attended by the Bishop of Pontefract, Bishop Tony, representatives of Kirklees Faith Forum and the parents and friends of the recipients.

The money came from funds raised by The Faith Forum from their “Pledge a Pound” appeal during Inter Faith Fortnight. The lucky sportspeople were twins Barry and Steven, from Meltham, who are successful bowlers; Table tennis star Howard, who is in the Great Britain Table Tennis Squad and Joanne who is a world championship swimmer. She was unable to attend but her mother was there to receive her cheque. They shared £1700 which will help towards the cost of training and travel around the world to enter competitions. They were very appreciative.

The three sportsmen, who all have a learning disability, were a delight to meet and talk to and they do not let their disability hold them back. They love playing sport and competing and the twins in particular, were extremely knowledgeable about all sports.

Faith Forum Co-ordinator Fakhara Rehman emphasised that the Faith Forum is all inclusive and welcomes people from every group in society, especially people with disabilities.

We all wish them well and hope the cash boost will help them to enjoy their sporting endeavours and be even more successful.

Children First

Cllr Shabir Pandor and myself with Mubashar Nabi and Children First colleague

I attended the presentation  at PKWA, given by Mubashar Nabi, Chief Executive of the Pakistan children’s charity, Children First. My ward colleague Shabir Pandor also attended, as did several other councillors. It was an informative and enjoyable evening. The scale of their operation was astounding. In addition to their work in general, to improve the lives of children, they initiated an emergency response programme in the aftermath of the flash floods in Muzzaffarabad.

They explained what they have achieved in the last year, which is awe-inspiring. Their vision is a society where children and their best interests come first.

Their mission:

·         Protecting children from neglect, abuse and exploitation;

·         Increasing access and quality of education

·         Expanding livelihood opportunities for the poor;

·         Improving community physical infrastructure;

·         Developing institutional capacities for disaster risk reduction and response to emergencies.

They are funded by ten organisations including the UN, the British High Commission and the British Council.

2010 was a challenging year for children in Pakistan and many were pushed into the labour market in order to survive. Children First remained committed to working with children to inspire dramatic change in their situation. They continue to increase their work in education, health and child protection and have a specific focus on child survival and maternal health.

Children First’s core values include child protection, gender equality and non-discrimination. They reached 170,000 children last year and in the coming year, aim to expand work in community participation and support for women.

They collaborate with local partners, government departments and international partners so that by working together, we can bring lasting change to the lives of children and help them realise their dreams. They would like to expand their work to Britain and are keen to set up exchange visits between young people in diaspora regions of the UK and Pakistan.

Omar Farooq, Chair of Children First, said Children First must ensure that the cause of the child never wavers for it is our children that carry our hopes for a better world.

The presentation and the conversation afterwards, left me in no doubt that this is an organisation which does invaluable work to improve the lives of children in Pakistan. Communities like ours, which include a significant proportion of the Pakistani diaspora, should do all we can to support them.