Ourmala: Yoga for social justice

“Following my heart is how I live my life. Sometimes it’s really easy, and other times it is challenging and terrifying, but by placing my trust in life itself, the most incredible opportunities and experiences have opened-up.”

“And when I can’t hear my heart, I know the most important thing is to get into a position where I can, and then I listen and the answer becomes clear.”

This is Emily Brett, yoga teacher and founder of Ourmala; a small charity in London that helps refugee and asylum-seeking women find strength through yoga. The main group they work with are registered with the UK Home Office to seek refuge in the UK.

I met with Emily at Ourmala’s headquarters, a converted shipping container overlooking the trees, field and pig pen at Hackney City Farm in East London.

Emily has changed the lives of more than 170 refugee and asylum-seeking women living in London since starting-up in 2011. Ourmala now has a waiting list of women wanting to practice yoga and organisations that work with refugees wanting yoga classes at their centres. I wanted to understand her story, motivation and actions behind her grand vision.

Photography by Carl Bigmore

You have created something really special; a space for women who have been forcibly displaced to enjoy yoga. Can you tell me more about the situation for these women?

“Sure, I’d love to… Many don’t realise, but the refugee and asylum-seeking community is one of the most marginalised, under-represented, impoverished, vulnerable and stigmatised in the UK. Eighty per cent of the world’s refugees are hosted by developing countries. In the UK, refugees, pending asylum cases and stateless people make-up only 0.27% of the total population (Source: UNHCR 2012 Global Trends Report.)

The women are here to seek refuge and, for most, the situation is dire. I mean, incredibly tough. Many are dealing with mental, emotional and physical issues from the trauma they faced in their home countries. Torture, sexual violence, human trafficking and female genital mutilation are common experiences.

When they arrive in London, they often know no one and are faced with huge language barriers, poverty, malnutrition, over-crowded or unstable accommodation. For a single person, the National Asylum Seeking Support is £36.62 a week which obviously does not go very far in London.

I’ve asked women what they do during the day, and a not uncommon answer has been: ‘Sit on a bench in the park… or pray in my room….’

Many are separated from their loved ones, which can include not knowing whether they are alive.”

Such strong women who have been through so much. Can you tell me about Ourmala and how it helps these women?

“Ourmala represents compassion, interconnection and social justice and is a continuation of yoga practice off the mat. It’s humanitarian action: we believe these women have experienced enough suffering and that they should be welcomed. In a small way, we aim to achieve a bit of social justice for them and help them find strength through yoga, which then boosts their resilience and helps them cope better with the rest of life.

We provide a safe space for them to breathe and practice yoga, which helps to restore strength. Yoga can be very powerful for self-esteem and confidence, and healing the mind and body.

The women tell us that yoga helps them sleep, after many sleepness nights; helps to relieve their pain and anxiety, panic attacks and depression, and gives them hope. It’s also an opportunity to meet and connect with women in similar situations – as well as our volunteers, who are from very different backgrounds. Knowing that other people know
they exist and care means a lot to the women.

Yoga gives you space to come back to yourself. Many have disassociated because of their trauma and, over the long term, yoga starts to make the body a safe and inhabitable place again, if we can look at the body as a home. It’s very grounding. Many of these women have been, or are, suicidal because of their circumstances. When the women confide in me, I just listen. You couldn’t make-up the horror of many of the stories and their strength and dignity never fail to move me.”

Now that’s reason enough to ensure these women have continual access to yoga!

“We also have a political voice and are starting to support campaigns challenging government policy that negatively affects these women. The whole point of Ourmala is to practice yoga off the mat, and serve these women in the best way we can. So we’re now working a the tactical and strategic levels.”

So how does Ourmala work?

“Once a week at Hackney City Farm, we run free yoga classes based on Ashtanga (physical demanding) and Mindfulness (meditation techniques), provide a hot healthy lunch, social time and English classes. We also run two other weekly yoga classes in South and West London. We refund the cost of travel for the women, without which most would not be able to attend. (If you’re seeking asylum, it’s illegal to work, however experienced or qualified you are; and you can be seeking asylum for years. I’ve known two women who were waiting for 16 years due to their cases being lost by the Home Office.)

We believe that consistency is key for these women, following the instability they have experienced in their lives so when we start a new class, we need to ensure we can keep it up. 

One of the ways we pay for the women’s travel is through  The Mala Initiative programme, where we invite yoga teachers to help raise funds to ensure these women can practice yoga. It is based on the idea that we are all interconnected. Our world, our lives, our choices. Every action has a consequence and by taking part in The Mala Initiative, teachers can reap really brilliant consequences from the actions they sew – for the women, for their students and for themselves. It’s a really simple concept.

Teachers run a class in their own community for their own groups and donate the proceeds to Ourmala, which then uses 100% on putting on the classes for free. The point is to hold their classes regularly (weekly, monthly, quarterly, annually – whatever the teacher can offer). £5 is all that is needed to allow for one woman to participate. Every little bit counts. This community is growing and it is a live demonstration of generosity and the genuine spirit of yoga. It’s a live teaching, if we can call it that…

Ourmala is also seeking funding through grants, fundraising events, donations, partnerships, etc.

How did it all start? 

“Yoga has always been a big part of my life in one way or another, and my practice 

continues to grow. My practice is the centre of my life now and informs everything. What we learn about ourselves through yoga never ceases to amaze me.

I’ve spent extended time in India studying yoga and have been inspired by work there. Yoga to support trafficked children, for example, at Odanadi outside Mysore.

It was the middle of the recession, I’d just come back from my second trip to India, and there were very few jobs. I was lucky enough to be given a filing role so I was financially stable while I worked out what I wanted to do. It felt vital to reflect my deepest experiences in yoga with my work. I volunteered with the British Red Cross’ (BRC) Refugee Services in Islington, started teaching the Vulnerable Refugee Women’s Support Group on a voluntary basis and at the same time took on a second job at Hackney City Farm. The women loved yoga, wanted more but it was impossible to run weekly classes and this is where Ourmala was born.

I put my idea to the Farm. I remember being terrified at the time because I wanted it so much. But they welcomed it with open arms. We were given a space to run classes for women and as part of a year-long pilot programme, which started in 2011. We won funding from the Big Lottery, the British Wheel of Yoga, Inchre Trust and Vodaphone World of Difference UK and it’s grown from there.

We now take women by referral from over 20 referring organisations, including BRC and Freedom from Torture.

This was all achieved on a shoestring budget almost all by our team of 30 plus dedicated volunteers.”

Absolutely amazing Emily. I’d love to know what Ourmala’s plans are for the future?

“We'd love to work with more refugee and asylum-seeking women, and start to work with men, displaced children and young people. We currently have a waiting list of nine organisations that work with refugees/asylum-seekers in London that would like us to provide yoga at their own centres for existing groups of refugees, and a long waiting list for our Hackney class. So, we know there's demand and we have evidence for the efficacy of yoga – so it all comes down to financing. 

We're in the process of applying to the UK Charity Commission to become a registered charity, which will give us more fundraising opportunities. Looking further ahead, once we're financially stable, we intend to become a social enterprise -- running our own business activities to fund our social mission.”

How can others help?

“If you’re a yoga teacher, join The Mala Initiative. Follow Ourmala on Twitter and like the Facebook page. The latter both really help with fundraising so even if you’re not a big Twitter or Facebook fan, this small action will make a positive difference!”

Website | Facebook | Twitter

Leah is a passionate storyteller, a multi-skilled communications specialist and a devoted human rights activist. She writes to ignite meaningful connection, to arouse curiosity, to push boundaries, to live large, to speak up, to create change.

She is deeply fuelled by a desire to create ideas and build visions to make this world a better place. A place where we can each equally follow our dreams - regardless of the place we were born, our religious affiliations, our sexual identity, our access to education. Everything in fact to do with the status quo. After studying the causes of conflict and division in society, Leah now uses storytelling to unite people, to create community and to open opportunities for collective action.

Her website, Paper Planes Connect, is a place to celebrate our difference and to unite in our sameness.

Mindful Words

 This

There’s no law against my listening

to this thrush behind the barn,

the song so loud it echoes like a bell,

then it’s further off beyond the lawn.

Whatever else there is, there’s this as well.

There’s no law against this singing –

nesting I suppose – up in the silver birch,

even though we build a common hell,

have done, and will make it worse.

Whatever else there is, there’s this as well.

- Maitreyabandhu (2011)

“I became a Buddhist because I wanted to learn more about my potential as a human being,” saidMaitreyabandhu, teacher at the London Buddhist Centre in East London’s Bethenal Green. 

“I realised this when I was a 25 years-old fine arts student who wasn’t all that happy. I was lost, complicated, quite depressed and seeking some sort of meaning,” he added.

Damien Hirst and Sarah Lucas – Maitreyabandhu's close friends who today are both well-known artists– encouraged him to attend a meditation class at the centre in 1986. By 1987, he had moved into the residential community above the centre and by 1990, was ordained into the Triratna Buddhist Order and given the name Maitreyabandhu. Now a teacher of Buddhism and meditation at the centre, Maitreyabandhu introduces beginners much like his former self to the practice.

“Meditation quite literally opened me up to a much more fortunate and fulfilled life,” Maitreyabandhu explained.

“ A divine way of just being really."

Maitreyabandhu

The centre was once a burnt-out fire station, abandoned and mistreated, when a group of men and women saw the possibility of the space in the 1960s and over three years, converted the derelict building into a haven of peace.

“During this time, Bethenal Green was a very poor community, living in very hard conditions. There was a need for something else. A reason to believe that there was more,” shared Maitreyabandhu.

Now the centre is opened six days a week, offering meditation, yoga, art and community events as well as retreats.

Always fascinated by words, imagery, playful puns and clever alliteration, Maitreyabandhu said his love of poetry began when a friend read him the first five verses of Shelley's Mask of Anarchy. "It was one of those moments when one discovers a new ecstasy, even a new calling. After that I read and re-read Shelley and Keats obsessively and used their poetry to explore ancient Buddhist themes," he said.

Maitreyabandhu has written three books on Buddhism, including Thicker than Blood: Friendship on the Buddhist Path (2001), Life with Full Attention: a Practical Course in Mindfulness (2009) andThe Journey and the Guide released earlier this year.

He has been acknowledged far and wide for his talents, winning the Keats-Shelley Prize, the Basil Bunting Award, the Geoffrey Dearmer Prize, and the Ledbury Festival Poetry Competition. He was a winner in the 2010 Book & Pamphlet Competition for his poem collection The Bond, among many others.

Then four years ago, he had a “mad” idea as he puts it.

“I love poems. Always have and always will. I remember going to a poetry reading a few years back, and I left feeling it could be done in a much more engaging way. This sparked a thought. What if a poetry reading was moderated in a way so the value of the words were the centre of the discussion?”

“Instead of multiple readings from various poets, I wanted to focus solely on one artist and go much deeper. To reveal how the experience of poetry is in fact, like the experience of meditation.”

Poet and personal mentor Mimi Khalvati told Maitreyabandhu to go for it.

“Before I knew it, I was making it happen. I contacted some of the UK’s best poets and novelists like John Fuller, Jackie Kay, Colm Tóibín, Hugo Williams, Marilyn Hacker, Don Paterson and Jo Shapcott, and the interest was palpable. Poetry East was born."

Maitreyabandhu with Colm Tóibín

The format goes like this. Maitreyabandhi introduces the author to the audience before he or she takes to centre stage and reads two poems of their choice, meticulously selected because of the influence the words have had on their personal life and creative work.

“I then spend 40 minutes interviewing the author, and ask questions like: What’s the human value of this poem? Essentially, what’s the point? What does it add?”

And the whole point? Maitreyabandhi is on a mission to open up poetry to everyone.

“Poetry is art. Another way of depicting life. Of expressing ourselves. In the same way that meditation brings us back to the present moment, poetry harnesses that energy of now. Of mindfulness."

WH Auden says, "The primary function of poetry, as of all the arts, is to make us more aware of ourselves and the world around us." Maitreyabandhu explained: "The same could be said of Buddhism. I approach poetry, in one sense as a distillation of peak experience, in another as finding meaning in the everyday – as such, poetry has become another strand of my spiritual practice."

His “mad” idea has been embraced with an open heart by people all across London, selling out time and time again. If you are London-bound, see Maitreyabandhu in action. John Fuller is the next speaker at Poetry East on Saturday 11th October 2014, 7.30pm. Tickets are £9. Book it here.

You can also watch previous sessions from Poetry East online here.

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Story by Leah Davies

Leah is a passionate storyteller, a multi-skilled communications specialist and a devoted human rights activist. She writes to ignite meaningful connection, to arouse curiosity, to push boundaries, to live large, to speak up, to create change.

She is deeply fuelled by a desire to create ideas and build visions to make this world a better place. A place where we can each equally follow our dreams - regardless of the place we were born, our religious affiliations, our sexual identity, our access to education. Everything in fact to do with the status quo. After studying the causes of conflict and division in society, Leah now uses storytelling to unite people, to create community and to open opportunities for collective action.

Her website, Paper Planes Connect, is a place to celebrate our difference and to unite in our sameness.

Saying 'Ello to ALO

From his humble beginnings in Italy, street artist Alo has come a long way from not even being able to afford paint. At the end of this month the prestigious Saatchi Gallery will offer its walls to Alo who will showcase a staggering 40+ original artworks for the month of August. We caught up with Alo recently to see how he was feeling about all this attention.

You have a show coming up on the 30th of July at the Saatchi Gallery. Can you tell us a bit about it?

The title of the show is "Hail to the loser", it will be a gallery of many characters who mirror people living our society. I chose the title because I've always felt like I identify more to borderline people; people on the outside of society. I mostly paint outsiders, not only poor people but also "everyday" people who suffer the world we live in but try not to let others see that for example.   I've wanted to have a solo show for a long time as my indoor work is a very important part of my art, it's much more complex. The Saatchi gallery is a great place to show it. It's a three week show, until 18th August and I'll show more than 40 original paintings.

You have developed a very signature style that is recognisable across the streets of East London. When did you start painting as ALO?

My art starts from painting, even if I've always used my own technique and media, not the typical ones. I have the need to paint characters and I do it on every kind of surface: canvas, walls or boards I find around the city. I didn't start painting on walls but pasting up. I used to go in Rome and Milan to do that. In Perugia as well, where I was living, even if there was not a street art scene there.  I started using the name "ALO" when I had to paste up. Then I've found my way to paint directly on walls, quite similar to the one I use for indoor works,  and started doing it. I didn't feel close to the traditional "painters " world. It was natural for me to start painting on walls cause I've always  belonged  to the street world, and the idea of making something not saleable and for everyone caught me soon. 

And what were you doing before that? When did you first start painting on the streets?

Before painting on the streets I've been developing my style step by step, I didn't start painting like now, this is a way that has developed in time. I used  to do many jobs to survive as well. Anyway I've always been involved in music and artistic activities. As I said before I started pasting up in Italy and then painting directly on walls; in London I've produced my most important works, both indoor and street ones.

Is it just acrylics and marker pens that you use to create your works?

I mostly use those media  even if in general I've used many on my indoor work: oil, waterclors, collage and a mixing of painting and computer graphic too.  I've used spraycans as well, to tag more than painting.

Your street pieces must take a lot of time to complete due to the detail in each one. Have you come close to being caught before?

I've found a quick technique to work on walls, even if it looks it takes a long time it doesn't. The limitation is about size, I have to work on middle size works, bigger would take too long but middle size is quick, anyway I have to know exactly what to do before starting to be quick and detailed. There's usually  a person with me when I paint to have a look and it's much easier like that. It's happened they stopped me a couple of times , told them I' d leave and they let me go, even if I came back later to finish the work.

What inspires you? Tell us three of your favourite artists that you admire.

An important influence for me is the expressionist movement in general, in particular the german one. The second one is African art , I've always been fascinated by their way of portraiting the human figure, those statues have fascinated me since I was a child.  The third one is street art, as the idea of taking back our walls and doing art not just for sale but for free and everyone.

Where does the name ALO come from?

It's just a name made with the letters of my actual name, didn't use much fantasy in choosing that.

What can we expect in the coming year from ALO?

I'll go on in painting London walls for sure and probably will go to Paris as well to paint my characters.  I'm supposed to be in the project URBAN NATION in Berlin, if anything goes right I should be there in the project of next October to paint a couple of walls.

http://www.saatchigallery.com/

Shop Online for Alo artwork

HAIL TO THE LOSER will be showing at Saatchi Gallery from 29 July to 18th August. Opening times are from 10am to 6pm everyday.

All photos courtesy of artist.

Written by Judy Griffiths

HIN Interview - Taco Tricycle Timbuktu

Artwork by HIN, on display at Taco-Tricycle-Timbuktu

Bob Motown, HIN and John Atherton have come together to produce a show of entirely new work that  sees a collision of worlds from illustration, street art and fine art. As the name may suggest, Taco-Tricycle-Timbuktu presents a variety of playfully fresh works that appear quite innocent and tongue-in-cheek at first until you delve a little deeper and discover the darker undertones of each piece. We caught up with our good friend HIN at the opening of the show, here's what he had to say:

You have a show running at Stour Space in Hackney Wick at the moment, can you tell us a little bit about it?

The show is between me and 2 artists friends of mine Bob Motown and John Atherton. Both very good artist work in a different medium. We all share a playful sense of humour. We collaborated on a special edition screen print for the show as for the rest we created our own individual narrative within the space. Mine is all about animals. In the modern society, animals and humans' space are constantly overlapping and I tried to imagine how it is if animals start to pick up our behaviours, habits & even beliefs. Animals pray to God, wanting to loose weight, longing to become famous or racist animals etc. 

We saw some awesome new HIN pieces in the show like your diorama’s and sculptures of squirrels stuck in beer cans. Can you explain the squirrel in the beer can for us?

The 3D pieces isn't something new for me. It's just that it's a too difficult for me to show that side of my work on the street. I always love taxidermy and the squirrel in the can share the same basic concept for the show. Animals very often feed themselves on human consumption nowadays. I've seen foxes drinking coke, pigeons eating kebab and even a drunk hedgehog. I feel that modern taxidermy should include part of that also.   

'Walk Into My Life' by HIN

Your work characteristically has very strong political connotations attached, (but often juxtaposed with child-like imagery). Were you always interested in politics growing up?

The thing is I never feel my work has a strong political connotations. I speak about things that touches me in that specific time. It could be about war or it could be about my grandmother's cat. The truth is part of our world is construct by pain, cruelty and greed. I believe the spirit of a child - the honesty, lack of judgement, the freedom and the natural creativity plus humour can help dilute that. It isn't politics I'm interested in. I'm just trying to find a balance within this oxymoron of the world we live in.

You have been known to depict controversial leaders such as Kim Jong Un, Silvio Berlusconi and Muammar Gaddafi - has this ever resulted in any trouble (or amusing emails)?

Once an Arabic couple passed by the gallery and saw the Bin Laden print. They very calmly said "This is rude, you must take it down, he is our prophet." When I heard that sentence made me feel that may be punching a hooligan in a face isn't such a scary thing. 

Where do you get your inspiration for the innocent, child-like quality of your pieces? 

I was forced to grow up at a very young age and there was no fun in it whatsoever. I always seeked for some sort of honesty & truth in life and I find it more often in children and I communicate much better with them. I guess I picked that up from them. Also I do have a slight biboplar personality so that helps. 

HIN Panda, on display at Stour Space

A street paste up by HIN

You moved to England from Hong Kong when you were just 12 years old. What is the street art like in Hong Kong? Have you done any pieces there when you have gone back to visit?

There are only a handful of street artists in Hong Kong. Not many pieces around. Everytime when I return I'd try to make as many pieces as possible. I try to let Hong Kong people understand this form of communication. Due to Hong Kong's complicated political situation with China. I feel that this can be a very useful channel of expression in the near future.

Tell us who inspires you, who are your three favourite artists that you admire?

There are movies, music and artists that can offer you temporary energy and ideas but people that I admire would be people I'm close to. I can see how they live deal with their daily struggle. My close friend's two kids Monia and Nias inspire me very much. They are plain hilarious.

Taco-Tricycle-Timbuktu is open until the 4th of August at Stour Space in Hackney Wick.

Written by Judy Griffiths

A Gift For You

Heba. This is an Arabic name derived for the Quran, which means gift or blessing.

Nestled on Brick Lane in London’s East you will find women from South Asia, Africa and the Middle East who embody the meaning of this word. They have arrived in London from vast and varied circumstances and their new life in the UK is just that - a gift and a blessing.

In search of direction, community and a sense of home, more than 300 migrant women a year come to the organisation rightly named the Heba Women’s Project. Some stay just a few months; for others, it’s a lifetime affair, returning time and time again for the friendship and the support. Regardless – each woman leaves Heba feeling different. Changed even. Empowered.

And the key to this empowerment? The safe space, the people and the learning opportunities most certainly help but the real elevator – the ultimate personal endorsement - is commitment. Commitment on behalf of each woman to be open, listen and try.

The project was started 24 years ago by eight Bangladeshi women, wives of leather workers,  who needed a space of their own for informal study and problem sharing. New to London – and its people, cultural norms, working environment and family demands - the women realised that there were many other new women to London who felt just as lost. These founding members were provided a room among the vintage boutiques and curry restaurants on Brick Lane by the Spitafields Small Business Association, a not-for-profit organisation which supports community and socially-minded initiatives take flight.

What has developed is a centre which provides more than 300 women a year from diverse cultural backgrounds with a safe space to make new friends and connections, learn valuable knowledge and skills, and engage in enterprise activities to meet their individual needs and family commitments.

I walked into the centre just on lunchtime as spoonfulls of couscous, shepherds’ pie, lentils and beans were being dished up. There was a constant hum of chatter and spikes of laughter as the women caught up after the morning session of classes.

Breaking for lunch with the women, Anne Wilding, the centre’s manager, said: “This is an important part of everyday. Uniting over food.”

A large majority of the women are from Bangladesh and Somalia with smaller numbers come from northern Africa, parts of the Middle East and Sudan, so there is always an eclectic range of foods for the tasting.

Anne Wilding (tall and centre) with ladies from the centre with women from the centre showcasing clothes made in class

Anne continued. “What we try to do is help these women become more active in their lives and equip them with the skills they need to get by in everyday life here in the UK. That might be to get a job or to continue their studies – whatever their desire is.”

Heba offers courses in spoken and written English, sewing and design, as well as information and technology, providing women with nationally recognised qualifications to enter the workforce. It also provides enterprise programs on production work through its connection with designers, and has a small number of subsidised work spaces within the centre for women who want to try out new ideas and start up in business.

In fact, in 2010 Heba was recognised as the winner of the Social Inclusion and Diversity category of the Tower Hamlets Third Sector Awards.

Many of the women come to the centre feeling vulnerable, depressed and lonely explained Anne. “Many experience domestic and cultural isolation when they arrive here in London as they try to adapt from an extended-family way of living, which they have known all their lives, to this new context, where nuclear families are expected to be autonomous. Nobody prepares you for this change, so you can end up feeling very alone.”

“A big part of what we do is also helping the women to expand the space they feel safe in, by using libraries, community centres and leisure venues for example to connect and socialise with people. We often arrange day trips using London Transport to familiarise the women with the environment and demonstrate how it is done. This increased confidence in the wider community helps women be better mothers.”

There are two sides to the coin however.

Previously, the sole purpose of the project was to support the women to build the confidence to actively participate in society, but this is only possible with mutual understanding and acceptance from the local British population. “We now work to bridge this gap and aid cross-cultural appreciation and exchange,” Anne said.

“Britian is a multi-cultural nation and we have a duty to increase cultural understanding on both sides.”

One of the ways the project does this is by offering evening and weekend courses in sewing, Sylheti and (soon to come) Moroccan, and inviting the local community to events and fundraises.

“Unfortunately though, stereotypes and misconceptions blind people.”

“We want to change the landscape, so to speak, and build a culture of awareness and reciprocal respect for each other’s differences – and to learn from these differences as opposed to being frightened of them.”

“We essentially want to breakdown the idea of they and come back to we,” Anne explained.

“Even among the women at Heba there are often assumptions made on cultural background, but as the women interact, you see the shift happen and awareness set in.”

Sandra is one of Heba’s youngest women. She is just 16 years old and arrived in London in December last year with her parents. Originally from Dakhar, Bangladesh, Sandra has lived the past 14 years in Italy. She says: “It wasn’t my choice to move here. I was doing well in school and all my friends are all in Italy.” Hoping to begin a course in childcare, Sandra found herself stuck when she arrived when she realised that courses didn’t commence until September.

“Unfortunately we arrived late and was really missing all my friends. I thought I would go crazy with boredom!”

Sandra Hossain

Sandra’s dad had heard of Heba through friends in the area and suggested she maybe look into doing a course and meeting new people through the centre.

“I was excited but also very nervous when I first came to Heba. I realised that I am quite a lot younger than many of the women… Day by day, I had more confidence and now we are like a big family. I am learning how to manage the main office and reception area. We are all volunteers on reception so we all work as a team to help the other women. That means I’m learning to be more responsible and have ideas and start projects. I am going to plan and run a weekly training session for women who want to know more about social media and how it works,” Sandra added.

Sandra will begin her course at a collage in Hackney in the next few months. “I can’t wait to start! I love working with children and I feel I am ready now after my time at Heba.”

On Sunday June 22^nd, the women of Heba along with members of the local community, will meet at 10:00 in the morning and walk 10km to Buckingham Palace to raise awareness of the charity, and fundraise for these vital services. If you would like to sponsor one of the walkers, click here. 

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Story by Leah Davies

Leah is a passionate storyteller, a multi-skilled communications specialist and a devoted human rights activist. She writes to ignite meaningful connection, to arouse curiosity, to push boundaries, to live large, to speak up, to create change.


She is deeply fuelled by a desire to create ideas and build visions to make this world a better place. A place where we can each equally follow our dreams - regardless of the place we were born, our religious affiliations, our sexual identity, our access to education. Everything in fact to do with the status quo. After studying the causes of conflict and division in society, Leah now uses storytelling to unite people, to create community and to open opportunities for collective action.

Her website, Paper Planes Connect, is a place to celebrate our difference and to unite in our sameness.