Through our work with the Hillingdon Women’s Centre we have developed a partnership that is embedding our work in the local community.
We agreed to base our weekly drop-in at the Women’s Centre to coincide with their job-club. Through this work, Belina was asked to speak at the Hillingdon International Women’s Day event on employment at Botwell Green Library.
Here we met a number of local people (including the mayor) and local organisations and also two Bengali women came to our stall and said: ‘We need help. We want to work and train but we find it difficult to know what to do and where to get help. Can we work with you?” It looked as if the Sweet Project was exactly what they needed.
The two women Manuara and Shati said they would come and talk in detail at our next drop in at the Women’s Centre the following Monday.
They did and they brought a friend. We had a long conversation and we explained the Sweet Programme, that we could organize ESOL and IT training, but that we needed a bigger group – the following week they brought three more women and the week after that a further woman indicated she wanted to join.
They are all very clear – they want to take more advantage of their life, they want to work, train and get involved in community activities.
We have done our IAGS and the group is planned to start in May. We have requested PDT to run the courses and we are really looking forward to the development of this group and believe that there is at least one woman who wants to be a community champion – exciting times!