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"My parents are very big on charity. We're Nubians and, going back to Egypt every summer, they'd insist that we come with them to orphanages and poor areas to open our eyes. That made us so grateful for what we had here. They also taught us to always try our hardest, go that extra mile, and not take no for an answer. I was raised exactly the same as my older brothers and my dad would say, 'Just because you're female it doesn't mean you can't do what a man does'. All my friends are from different ethnicities and I really wanted to find a way to bring everyone together. So in 2017, I set up Burnt Oak Women's Group. It started as coffee mornings, then I got funding to do a community trip, and after that the Great Get Together. All the local schools took part and we had performances by local dance students, a DJ, bouncy castles, a multicultural parade. It was a whole day of free fun for everyone, and I was so overwhelmed by the number of people who turned up that I cried. I still have to battle preconceptions that it's a group just for Muslim women. I'm certainly not just the colour of my skin, and I'm definitely not just my headscarf. I've also got a very strict rule - no discussion of religion unless it's a celebration, or politics.
"When we had to close during COVID, we decided to do a food bank instead. Initially, I was told 'You need to wait' but I said, 'No! I have to do it now, today, because I'm here on the ground, listening to parents crying about their children going hungry'. I'm a bit stubborn. When I set my mind to something I will always find a way. So I asked friends who worked in supermarkets, 'Can you give me your surplus?', and suddenly there were 32 crates of food in my front garden. We ran the food bank once a week and over 300 people were turning up – the queue went round the block. We were also helping with form-filling and translation,and delivering food and medications to isolating families. It was a year-and-a-half of manic, but also an indescribable feeling of relief, that all these people were able to come in, get what they needed, and be OK for that week.”
"My parents are very big on charity. We're Nubians and, going back to Egypt every summer, they'd insist that we come with them to orphanages and poor areas to open our eyes. That made us so grateful for what we had here. They also taught us to always try our hardest, go that extra mile, and not take no for an answer. I was raised exactly the same as my older brothers and my dad would say, 'Just because you're female it doesn't mean you can't do what a man does'. All my friends are from different ethnicities and I really wanted to find a way to bring everyone together. So in 2017, I set up Burnt Oak Women's Group. It started as coffee mornings, then I got funding to do a community trip, and after that the Great Get Together. All the local schools took part and we had performances by local dance students, a DJ, bouncy castles, a multicultural parade. It was a whole day of free fun for everyone, and I was so overwhelmed by the number of people who turned up that I cried. I still have to battle preconceptions that it's a group just for Muslim women. I'm certainly not just the colour of my skin, and I'm definitely not just my headscarf. I've also got a very strict rule - no discussion of religion unless it's a celebration, or politics.
"When we had to close during COVID, we decided to do a food bank instead. Initially, I was told 'You need to wait' but I said, 'No! I have to do it now, today, because I'm here on the ground, listening to parents crying about their children going hungry'. I'm a bit stubborn. When I set my mind to something I will always find a way. So I asked friends who worked in supermarkets, 'Can you give me your surplus?', and suddenly there were 32 crates of food in my front garden. We ran the food bank once a week and over 300 people were turning up – the queue went round the block. We were also helping with form-filling and translation,and delivering food and medications to isolating families. It was a year-and-a-half of manic, but also an indescribable feeling of relief, that all these people were able to come in, get what they needed, and be OK for that week.”
"My parents are very big on charity. We're Nubians and, going back to Egypt every summer, they'd insist that we come with them to orphanages and poor areas to open our eyes. That made us so grateful for what we had here. They also taught us to always try our hardest, go that extra mile, and not take no for an answer. I was raised exactly the same as my older brothers and my dad would say, 'Just because you're female it doesn't mean you can't do what a man does'. All my friends are from different ethnicities and I really wanted to find a way to bring everyone together. So in 2017, I set up Burnt Oak Women's Group. It started as coffee mornings, then I got funding to do a community trip, and after that the Great Get Together. All the local schools took part and we had performances by local dance students, a DJ, bouncy castles, a multicultural parade. It was a whole day of free fun for everyone, and I was so overwhelmed by the number of people who turned up that I cried. I still have to battle preconceptions that it's a group just for Muslim women. I'm certainly not just the colour of my skin, and I'm definitely not just my headscarf. I've also got a very strict rule - no discussion of religion unless it's a celebration, or politics.