Projects
(Youth)
ELDERS' SUPPORT
We have started a pilot project offering senior members of our Burmese community,
regular culturally sensitive and appropriate events for their social and
cultural development.
These events take place
at a venue in the East London borough of Waltham Forest, mainly
because of large cluster of our first generation migrants of Burmese origin who
settled in East London boroughs. The majority of them originally migrated to
Britain, many years ago, to fill vacancies in public transport, cotton mills and
other industries and who are now in need of various kinds of support, including
social development.
We plan to hold
these Free events, six in total, every few months. We have received funding for an event worker
for the project and they will announce dates and venues for
the forthcoming events accordingly.
If you are a senior member of the Burmese community and would like to attend these planned events, then please contact us at our Alperton House address or e-mail us to let us know.
1st Burmese Elders Event 16/09/06 - A Success for the Burmese Community
The Burmese community gathered in Walthamstow on Saturday 16th September 2006 to celebrate their culture and cuisine, as well as receive advice and information on health, safety in the home and pensions. The event was held at Frederick Street Community Centre, Frederick Street, off St. James street, Walthamstow. Organised by MBRWA, the event was funded by Comic Relief and attended by approximately sixty Burmese senior citizens and their families.
The Burmese community, considered one of the most isolated and hard-to-reach communities, this event allowed the community to gather in Walthamstow, which is fast becoming an important London Hub for the Burmese.
2nd Event 10/12/06 - Strengthening the Community Spirit.
Our second successful event, funded by Comic Relief, was held for Burmese elders on Sunday 10th December, 2006, at the Welcome Centre, Church End, Walthamstow Village, London E17. Although it was a cold, rainy afternoon, the event was well attended with attendees listening to a talk on Tuberculosis, and leaflets were also distributed to them for future reference. The Chairperson, Michael Jeewa, also spoke of the time he recently spent in Myanmar, and of the Children's Projects visited that are carrying out such good humanitarian work in the country. Traditional Burmese food & refreshments were again provided on the day. All attendees agreed that the Chef & volunteers had done a great job with the catering for this event, "it felt like being back in Burma", was the comment from one of our attendees.
3rd Event 25/02/07 - Increasing Awareness
This event was well attended, this time it was held at Blackhorse Road Baptist Church, Blackhorse Road, Walthamstow, London E17, with a very large group of attendees who enjoyed the 3rd elders/family event (fig.1). South East Asian food & dessert was again kindly provided for all attendees, and all left remarking on being very well fed. On this occasion, we were fortunate to have not 1 but 3 Burmese Doctors available for our Health information "Question and Answer" session during the event. Attendees were encouraged to ask questions about any health queries, issues and advice they wanted for the Doctors to answer. The conclusion of the session was that all attendees were encouraged to ensure they were adequately serviced by their local Health provider. Also that they should seek where they require language or cultural assistance from their local health provider/PCT. (fig.2) After the session attendees left feeling a bit more confident in using and gaining assistance from their local health provider. Leaflets and booklets on various conditions and assistance were available for the attendees also.
We were kept entertained during the event with wonderful music and songs sung by a very talented singer who kindly volunteered his time. We wish to thank him for his support in our work and for providing his valuable time in entertaining us during the event.
(fig.1) 
(fig.2)
4th Event - 29/04/07 - Hnit Thit Koo 2007 (Burmese New Year Celebration)
This fourth event was extremely well attended, with over 80 people attending the day in celebration of the Burmese New Year. We were fortunate to have the Deputy Mayor of Waltham Forest, Cllr Liaquat Ali (pic.3)and Councillor Nana Asante (pic.4), of Harrow Council in attendance for this event. The Deputy Mayor was surprised at how large the Burmese community in Waltham Forest was and noted that he would be at hand to assist where he could to our Organisation and the Community themselves. Councillor Asante made an interesting presentation of the importance of valuing our Elders and learning and gaining whatever knowledge we could from the wisdom of their experiences. She also highlighted the issue of Pension Credit Benefit, and stressed how important it was that those Elders who have contributed for many years to the economy should now be able to ensure they receive the appropriate level of funding allocated for each individual by way of the Pension Credit.
The main dish of Biriyani was kindly prepared by Mrs. Youseef, and helped by a number of volunteers who have regularly attended these events. We would like to say a big thank you for their assistance to our event.
We were delighted to provide traditional Thai Water Festival dancing provided by a team of wonderful Thai lady dancers (pic.2), who kindly volunteered their time for the day to perform two dance pieces and a sprinkling of Thinngyan Water to the delight of our attendees.
All the ladies were presented with bouquets of flowers as a thank you for their individual efforts on the day.
There was also a talk by the Headmaster of a new Wisdom Primary & Secondary School opening in North West London. This school is part of a big organisation which specializes in providing a safe and respectful environment for our children. For further details please log onto www.WisdomSchool.org.uk , or if you want further information about Axis Educational Trust and the great work that is being done for children here in the UK please refer to www.axiseducation-uk.org
5th Event - 24/06/07 - Summer Picnic in the Park (Nearly!)
Due to bad weather conditions we were unable to have our picnic in the actual park. However, the Church Hall that we regularly use, Blackhorse Road Baptist Church, Walthamstow, kindly allowed us to use their hall at short notice and we are very grateful to them for the continuing support they have shown our organisation. Even with the rain coming down, it didn't stop our event from going ahead and for lots of our attendees from bringing along their picnic contributions, which we all thoroughly enjoyed. From traditional Mohingya & Thou-ou-dto to Strawberries & Cream, we all joined in and enjoyed a picnic atmosphere in the shelter of the Church Hall. So a big thank you to you all who came along and brought along a little something for us all to share.
6th Event - 09/09/07 - Final Event (1pm to 4pm)
Why not come along to celebrate our 6th & final event of this project, which has been sponsored by Comic Relief. The event will be held at Blackhorse Road Baptist Church, Walthamstow, London, E17.
If you are an Elder and if you wish to attend please contact Mrs. C. Win on 0208 900 9121.
Project kindly sponsored by Comic Relief