Annual Report.indd
Transcription
Annual Report.indd
ANNUAL REPORT Afghan Association Paiwand 2012 Adam, Nazifa | Afzali, Parisa | Ahadi, Faridoon | Ahmadiadeh, Omar Yama | Ahmadzai, Jamal | Ahmadzai, Mirwais Kahn | Ahmadzai, Shakira | Aimaq, Yilda | Aimaq, Zarmina | Akbar, Fatana | Al-Thamir, Ali | A BIG | Alam, Imran | Amir, Lina | Amir, Zakia | Amirebrahimi, Maneli | Amiri, Zaheda | Arghandiwal, Maryam | Aria, Afif | Ashogbon, Olusegun | Assor, Samuel | Azimi, Soudaba | Azizi, Farida | Azizi, Wahidullah | Baria, Anil | Basson, Rajandeep Kaur | THANK YOU | Batra, Anil | Bedekar, Shweta | Bhatt, Megha | Bollesteros, Maribel | Brown, Kirby-Teresa | Browning, Tim | Butt Sajjad | Caikina, Aleksandra | Chiranoranwanit, Sukit | De Campos-Guida, Eugenioz | Dost-Mohammed, Farzana | Edo- Ukeh, Brenda | Efimkine, Alexandre | Fox, Tyler | Goldstein, Alison | Gul, Mohammad | Gulzar, Hosina | Gungabissoon, Pooja-Pryanka | Hafezi, Sonila | Hameed, Zahira | TO | Harris, Liz | Hashemi, Sajida | Hussain, Saira | Isar, Shabana | affer, Zayn | Ismat, Tahmina | Jalali, Karima | Jami, Eqlima | Jan, Akhtar | Javiera | Kabir, Venous | Kader, Aisha | Khaleghi, Reza | Khanna, Mohini | Khalil, Jawid | Khoshan, Parnion | Khurami, Najiba | Kohistani, Frozan | Kohestani, Shawkat | Koudou, Millie | Latif, Palwasha | Lafraie, Sumayyah | OUR | Maheswaran, Dewaki | Majidi, Homa | Majidi, M. Karim | Mall, Svetlana Yuriyevna | Mall, Veedda | Mansury, Mustafa | Masoodi, G. Farooq | McDermott, Graham Patrick | Mehta, Raxita-Babubhai | Mhojatoleslami, Sepideh | Mirza, Bita Tahmaseb | Mohsenzada, Nahida | Mujaddei, Masuma | Mujaddei, Mia Ahmad | Nabi, Abdul | Nabi, Zohal | Nahendran, Karthyla | Navai, Mazida | AMAZING | Nazari, Ahmad-Younis | Nazari, Sita | Nazari, Souroosh | Ocloo, Jermaine-Marcas | Opoku-Agyemann, Nana Kwabena | Patel, Payal | Popal, Jamila | Popal, Sammar opalzai, Safia | Popal, Sammar | Poursadegh-Sadigh, Parsa | Qadare, Mariam | Qazilbash, Abir | Rajaraman, Savithri | Rasul, Javid | Rawish, Fariba | Raza, Hammad | Rezai, Fatima | Sayed Abdul Basir | Sadeq, Aghela | Sadiq, Aqila | Salhie, Yasmine | Sarabi, Yasman | Sarwari, Mohammed | Sarwari, Sadia | Sattar, Nayaab | VOLUNTEERS |Shams, Laila | Sharifi, Samia | Sherifi, Marzia | Shirzad-Yama, Roya | Siddiq, Sharifa | Simab, Amal | Slezeviciute, Aiste | Smith, Edidiong | Smith, Vanessa-Karen | Taher, Lina | Tahmaseb Mirza, Bita | Tanha, Anwar Kahn | Torkamani, Mehdi | Wafa, Maryam | Walizada, Saeeda | Wassel, Belquis | Yaqin, Faisal | Zarrien, Razia | Zarrien, Sahel-Ahmad | Zubair, Mohammad | Cover photo: Picture of an Afghan girl by Leslie Knot. We would like to thank Leslie for providing us with such a beautiful photo Education Project Advocacy Project Mentoring Project Mental Health Advocacy Parenting Consortium Multilingual Wellbeing Legal and Administrative Information . . . 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 . . . Paiwand Staff Stag Lane and HarrowWeekend Schools Children & Youth Service Supported Accommodation Service ESOL Financial Summary Message from the Chair I have had the privilege of being the chair of the Afghan Paiwand Association for the last three years. It gives me great pleasure as a chair here on the tenth anniversary of this organisation to say thank you to the large team of staff, volunteers and trustees who are involved in providing service to people in need. Without their support, dedication and hard work this association would not be here today. As you all may know, the Afghan Paiwand Association was established in 2002, by a dedicated group of volunteers from the Afghan community in the UK. Its mission was to provide services to Afghans in need of support. During this period, over ten thousand Afghan refugees and asylum seekers have been supported, or have received access to different services. In 2009, Paiwand opened its services to refugees and asylum seekers of all backgrounds. I am pleased to report that staff and volunteers work hard to provide and maintain a high quality service to our beneficiaries. We have successfully achieved the Investor in People Quality Mark. Our supplementary school at Whitefield is one the five schools in the country achieving a special distinction award. The Advocacy Project has also successfully achieved OISC Level Two accreditation. We could not have achieved any of the above without the hard work of our staff and volunteers. I am proud to have the support of over 85 dedicated volunteers. They strive towards providing the 2000 refugees, asylum seekers and migrants throughout North West London with community advocacy, education, mental health, sports, music, arts and crafts, mentoring, and befriending support and service. I am also happy to report that in the past year, our advocacy service has dealt with 739 individual cases. The project was able to represent clients at the welfare benefits tribunals, and undertake Level Two immigration cases. Once again, I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to all who have helped at the Afghan Paiwand Association. Our volunteers have been so extremely generous with their time and their efforts. A special thanks goes to Mr Farid Mall, the Director of Paiwand, who has dedicated himself wholeheartedly to this organisation. Let’s work together as a team to make another successful year of providing quality service to our beneficiaries. Shah Bibi Shah Nala CHAIRPERSON 6 | PA I WA N D A N N U A L R E P O R T I am pleased to present this report which summarises a range of culturally, linguistically, and socially, appropriate services that Paiwand offers to a diverse community. Year 2011/12 was highly challenging and also a huge success for Paiwand. We have successfully obtained the Investor in People Quality Mark, OICS Level two qualification, and Special Distinction Quality Mark in Supplementary Education. Our services include: • Information, Advice, Guidance and advocacy service • OISC Level two Immigration service • Supplementary and Mother Tongue Schools • Befriending & Mentoring • Weekend Schools for underachieving children • ESOL classes • Interpretation and translation • Mental health awareness sessions, advocacy & support • • • • • • • Outreach services to those experiencing isolation Community library Service Youth activities A women’s club Summer and Winter football tournaments Cultural events and festivals Cultural awareness training for professionals working with the Afghan Community Over 2000 refugees, asylum seekers and migrants throughout North and Northwest London have benefited from these services. I would like to thank and express my gratitude to all Paiwand staff, volunteers, board members, and our funders, for their commitment, time, invaluable input, and support. Without their contribution we could not achieve any of this. FARID MALL DIRECTOR Tyler Fox Admin I’m a new member of the Paiwand team, but have loved every minute of working here so far. As the administrator, I have the daily privilege of working for, and interacting with, all of the inspiring Project Managers in the office. Participating in the practical functioning of each project, and the organisation as a whole, has given me insight into the incredibly positive contributions Paiwand has made to the local migrant community. It’s exciting to be part of such a vibrant office environment: clients, students, football teammates, and various members of the community are in and out at any given time, which really gives the space a communal feel. I look forward to further immersing myself in the Paiwand community and contributing what I can to its future endeavours! Zuheir Suleman (Ali) Accountant I have been working for Paiwand since 2007, and it has been an absolute pleasure. As an accountant, my responsibilities include: • Running monthly payroll of 3 full time staff, 12 to 15 part time staff and over 30 casual or sessional workers. • Preparing various statements such as Income & Expenditures, Funds Monitoring reports, Budget & Cash Flow. • Making sure Final Accounts are prepared on accrual basis with 100% accuracy. • Working with all Project Managers and the Director in great team spirit! Mohibullah Walizada Youth Project Manager Youth Project at Paiwand runs a variety of activities, trips and workshops to promote positive social and recreational conduct among refugee communities. In addition, we provide mentoring support both to groups and one-to-one. We strive towards helping young people with any issues they may be facing; these include education, stress, advice on legal issues, and any other problem they need help with. More than 400 young people have benefited from the project this year. The project was run with the help of five volunteers and two staff members. PA I WA N D A N N U A L R E P O R T | 7 “Let the beauty you love be what you do. There are a thousand ways to kneel and kiss the earth.” Rumi Emily Beckwith Education Project Manager It was a real honour to join Paiwand in November 2011. It was instantly inspiring to see that there was so much being done and that I was surrounded by such kind, hardworking people. The Education Project comprises a huge team of teachers, teaching assistants, office volunteers and mainstream school support staff. All of us give our all to make sure that local children get that little bit of extra help on a Saturday that could make a big difference. I love seeing everyone working together on a project that means so much to us all. I am looking forward to helping the project launch into a new phase of delivery this year, collaborating more closely with mainstream schools and focussing even more on the educationally most in need. Nahzley Anvarian Mentoring Project Manager The mentoring project aims to improve the lives of vulnerable Afghan children, aged 11-18 years old, in the London borough of Harrow, by providing emotional support and guidance. The project is funded by Harrow Council until the end of March 2013, and is a partnership between four Afghan organisations in north London, with Paiwand acting as the lead. I started my role in April 2012, and, working from two different offices Paiwand & Afghan Association of London - I recruit volunteer mentors and make sure they receive appropriate training before being matched with young people. Currently, twelve volunteers have been recruited for the mentoring post. The service is promoted to schools and colleges as well as the organisations that deal with young Afghans. Karen Reid Advocacy Project Manager The advocacy service provides advice to refugees and asylum seekers from all cultural backgrounds. It advocates on their behalf across a number of areas, including welfare benefits, housing, immigration and debt. I work alongside a team of ten volunteers to provide outreach surgeries across Barnet, Brent and Harrow. The work undertaken by the advocacy service includes filling in forms, contacting service providers on behalf of clients, drafting appeals and tribunal representation. Workshops are also provided to service users to increase community knowledge of rights and responsibilities within the United Kingdom. Hasina Sarwari Mental Health Project Manager The Mental Health advocacy project has been running since mid-April, 2012. A lot of groundwork has been laid in order to establish this service, and to make it accessible to the Afghan community from three boroughs. My strong team of 8-10 volunteers have helped the project flourish by networking, publicising, securing office sites in different areas, and planning and organising community workshops and events. We not only listen and identify the clients’ needs but also provide emotional support, contact relevant professionals in relation to their mental health needs, and do frequent followups. The reaction from external organisations, and clients alike towards this service has been heartening and positive. There is plenty of optimism and good foundation within the project that will continue to be developed to deliver consistently high standards. 8 | PA I WA N D A N N U A L R E P O R T Education Emily Beckwith, Project Manager Paiwand’s Saturday Schools have continued to provide extracurricular support for children aged 6 – 16 from both the Afghan and wider community. Our schools aim to help children perform better at their mainstream school, narrow the gap between the attainment levels of refugee children and those born in the UK and help children maintain their cultural identity. ‘I can state with confidence that this organisation has got the capacity and the ability to deliver high quality projects within the fields of their expertise.. Paiwand has got a thorough knowledge of their community which has proved extremely helpful in communicating with our students and their families.’ We would like to express our gratitude to Whitefield School for the joint achievements of our partnership this year. Awards Paiwand’s Saturday School at This year, Paiwand’s Saturday School at Whitefield became one of only five in the country to achieve Special Distinction Status from ContinYou. The award means that Paiwand has delivered the highest standard of delivery in the supplementary sector. Congratulations to former Project Manager, Wallizada Mohibullah, and current Head Teacher of the School, Fahima Khalil, for all of your work achieving this award. Whitefield became one of only The support of Margaret Kojlo, of Whitefield School, enabled us to work to our full potential. Margaret recently awarded Paiwand 5 stars out of 5 for our work as a delivery partner, commenting that: five in the country to achieve Special Distinction Status from ContinYou End of Year Results We were proud to see 198 children graduate from Whitefield and London Academy schools in July. They achieved the following results in all subjects, from Reception to GCSE. PA I WA N D A N N U A L R E P O R T | 9 92% of parents surveyed in 2012 gave Paiwand 8-10/10 for quality of study environment. Science Maths Pashto Islamic Studies 73% of Grades for Islamic Studies, Dari and Pashto were A* and A Dari 1 0 | PA I WA N D A N N U A L R E P O R T Case Study: Ahmad Rashid Ahmadzay Ahmad Rashid is one of our Students of the Year, achieving an A in GCSE-level Maths, an A* in Dari and an A* in Islamic Studies. After receiving his award, he explained how coming to Paiwand had helped him raise his academic level and connect with friends from the same culture. He enjoys being able to speak his home language, whilst being supported to achieve higher standards in Maths and English at his mainstream school. Good luck Ahmad Rashid with your bright future! PA I WA N D A N N U A L R E P O R T | 1 1 “As a refugee myself, I was aware of the troubles and shortcomings. I just wanted to make things easier for others, especially kids. It’s good experience too, I always wanted to get into teaching” Volunteer Teacher Teachers We could not have achieved any of this without our team of committed teachers. Whitefield and London Academy schools have nearly 60 teachers combined, who all give their time and skills to the project every weekend. At the beginning of the year, we asked the teachers what motivates them to volunteer for Paiwand every Saturday. What came back was an overwhelming sense of community spirit and desire to give back to the community. One teacher commented that: ‘As a refugee myself, I was aware of the troubles and shortcomings. I just wanted to make things easier for others, especially kids. It’s good experience too, I always wanted to get into teaching.’ Future Plans Paiwand will continue to be at the forefront of supplementary education by partnering with mainstream schools in shared objectives. 2013 will see the introduction of direct referral systems from mainstream schools to Paiwand’s services. Stronger collaboration with schools will provide better professional development for our teachers and a more streamlined, tailored level of support for every student. Our successful partnership with Whitefield school is just the beginning of this new phase of delivery. Well done to all of the teachers, teaching assistants, office volunteers One of our teachers, Friba Rawish, was awarded a Brent Champions Award in May for her exceptional contribution to the project. In addition to teaching Dari, Friba has also provided project support in the office and helped to re-format outdated language materials. and management staff for making this a great year for the project! Saturday Supplementary sic ce u M man d rl for o W Per e On ject o Pr School Graduation 2012 r Ou ers! h ac e T 1 4 | PA I WA N D A N N U A L R E P O R T Harrow & Stag Lane Weekend Schools The Schools have been developed in a partnership led by Harrow Borough Ethnic Minority Achievement with the support of other organisations from the statutory and voluntary sectors. It is a new and visionary piece of work that currently does not exist in London. The project fully meets local priorities, Every Child Matters and national Narrowing the Gap objectives. The Harrow Weekend School and the Stag Lane Weekend School admit children for KS1 and KS2 by referrals from local school clusters. They are assessed to identify the level of their needs and ensure that they are from the Narrowing the Gap and local strategy disadvantaged groups. All children and parents are required to sign an ‘attendance and behavior agreement’ upon enrolment. Children are supported in Maths and English by UK qualified teachers. Each class is provided with a community teacher assistant. Summary of impact of Weekend School on Children’s Attainment Children are expected to make 3 points progress a year at KS2 (with 2 points being 1/3 of a National Curriculum Level). Four points is seen as good progress. The cohort was 36 children in years 5/6 coming from 2 schools. The children were all ethnic minority children mainly Somali, on FSM and were selected because they had been under achieving and many had not made NC expected progress the previous year. The focus of the academic side of the school was on writing and Maths but we also expected a “knock on” effect on reading. Therefore, to conduct this evaluation we looked at progress of children attending weekend school in reading, writing, and maths compared to: 1) 2) 3) NC expected progress Progress they had made the previous year (when they did not attend the weekend school) Progress of children in their year group who were not attending the weekend school, to see if they had narrowed the gap. “I love stag lane weekend school I can’t wait to come back in September.” student PA I WA N D A N N U A L R E P O R T | 1 5 In the end of year survey, 98 % of parents and children gave Stag Lane weekend school an excellent for quality and study environment. Comparison with NC expected progress Observations The vast majority made 4 points progress (greater than NC expectations). Approximately half went up a whole NC level (twice the rate of progress expected by the NC). The average points progress in particular in Maths and English was outstanding. Comparison with previous year progress For children in Year 6, approximately 80% achieved Level 4 or above in Maths and English (the clearest indicator towards achieving 5 A*-C incl Eng and Maths at GCSE). At the beginning of the year, if the children had made NC expected progress of 3 points, only 25% would have achieved level 4 in Maths in English. It is clear that there were dramatic improvements, in particular within the target areas of writing and maths, for the children attending the weekend schools. 1 6 | PA I WA N D A N N U A L R E P O R T Advocacy Project Karen Reid, Project Manager Overview Over the past year, the advocacy service has dealt with 739 cases of individual advocacy, which is in excess of the 532 required to meet the targets set by our funders over this period. The advocacy service has continued to provide clients with advice in the areas of welfare benefits, housing, and immigration. We have represented clients at the welfare benefits tribunal and have had clients awarded both Employment and Support Allowance and Disability Living Allowance as a result. We have also made a successful appeal against a negative right to reside decision. The advocacy service is now registered with the Office of the Immigration Service Commissioner to provide Level 2 advice, and we have taken on a number of more complex cases as a result, including an application under the domestic violence rule, and an application under Article 3 for discretionary leave to remain for medical reasons. Evaluation In February, we commissioned an independent report by researchers at the University of the East of London to evaluate the success of the project. The report was very positive about the work of the advocacy project to date, and confirmed that the project is meeting the needs and expectations of clients, as well as its aims and objectives. The range of advice provided by the service and the approachability of case workers were highlighted as specific strengths of the service. The evaluation also provided us with recommendations for improving the service, including reducing clients’ dependency on the service and increasing our ability to share resources within the team. Both of these are being addressed at present. Funding The two year grant we received from Trust for London ended in March of this year, and unfortunately our application to renew it was unsuccessful. We have, however, been successful in securing funding from Harrow Council to continue the work of the advocacy service in Harrow, and a grant from Law for Life to run a joint Public Legal Education Project with them. This has meant a reduction in the number of staff hours the advocacy project has from 56 per week to 38, however, due to the hard work of our volunteers this reduction has had a minimal impact on clients. Case Study 1 Ms F originally sought asylum in another EEA country, where she lived for several years before moving to the UK when she achieved citizenship. She claimed Income Support while her children were young and then claimed Job Seekers Allowance for a short period before an illness that prevented her from working. She applied for Employment and Support Allowance, however, her application was refused as she was not meeting the requirements of EEA law that would allow her to be entitled to claim out-of-work benefits in the UK. The advocate applied for a crisis loan for the client to secure her some immediate income, and explained the situation to the housing department so that her Housing and Council Tax Benefit were not affected. The advocate then appealed the Department of Work and Pensions decision, and continued to chase them for a response while the client was waiting. After several months, the Department of Work and Pensions reversed their decision, and awarded the client Employment and Support Allowance, which was backdated to the date when she first made the claim. The advocate continued to support her until her claim was in payment and the arrears had also been paid. Case Study 2 Mr L came to the advocate with several unpaid bills and a number of letters from debt collectors. The advocate called all the debt collectors and asked them to put the claims on hold to give Mr L time to get his finances in order and make an offer of repayment. The advocate then supported Mr L to fill in an Income and Expenditure form, and assisted him to identify areas where he might be able to save money. The advocate then calculated the amount of money which Mr L had left over at the end of the month, divided this between the companies to which he owed money, and agreed the payments with Mr L. The advocate then wrote to all of the companies to which Mr L owed money, explained his financial situation and made an offer of re-payment in accordance with Mr L’s available finances. PA I WA N D A N N U A L R E P O R T | 1 7 Clients Breakdown by Gender Clients by Country of Origin Afghanistan Iraq 2% 2% “...I found out my rights, and felt more confidence when I received correct information. Everywhere and everyone, even social worker gave me different answers and didn’t tell me [the] proper answer, except Paiwand.” (Iranian Client living in Brent) Iran Somalia Uganda Other Pakistan 5% Areas of Advice Access to Statutory Services Administrative 9% 14% 1 8 | PA I WA N D A N N U A L R E P O R T Children and Youth Service Mohibullah Walizada, Project Manager Our aim is to encourage children and young people from the Afghan, refugee, and migrant communities to participate in positive social and recreational activities. We strive towards increasing their access and participation in mainstream arts, music, and sports. The youth project at Paiwand has managed yet again to attract many young pupils from Afghan and other refugee and migrant communities and successfully advocate positive change in youths’ knowledge, confidence and social interaction. This was achieved with the help of a dedicated team of volunteers and staff who helped organise various trips, activities and innovative workshops. To meet the aforementioned objectives of the project, the following activities have been undertaken: Activity 1 North London Global Gathering: This is a partnership project with Barnet Refugee Service and Barnet Children Services. This project is designed to provide both support and activities that can help young people in terms of confidence building, social interaction and becoming a positive member of the community. The project is delivered by a dedicated and professional team of staff and volunteers. There are over 140 children and youth registered for the event from a wide range of backgrounds. The aim of all our activities at this centre is for young people to make new friends, improve their English, learn about the new community, and enjoy positive activities in a safe environment. Some of the activities provided at this centre include sporting activities such as football, boxing, martial arts delivered by trained volunteers, creative arts such as t-shirt design and painting, social interaction activities such as cooking, pool, chess and Wii games playing in groups, emotional support through 1-2-1 and group mentoring, trips, ice skating, and educational support through IT and language sessions. Activity 2 Community trip to Thorp park: This trip was organised for mainly Afghan youth to participate with their families and enjoy the day at Thorpe Park. Most of young people were visiting Thorpe Park for the first time in their lives, exploring and experiencing the rides. Ninty-six young people and members of their families joined the one-day trip which was nothing short of amazing. Activity 3 Olympic & Wembley Stadium Guided Tours: These two trips were designed by our Youth Project. The Wembley trip was organised in partnership with Attic Theatre Co. as part of a drama project themed on Olympic games. Young people from the drama group had an opportunity to learn about the development of the Wembley Stadium, its capacity, and also its contribution to the local businesses and budgets. The aim of both trips was to promote Olympic sports, and how they can positively affects people’s lives. They were encouraged to take part in various sporting activities provided both by Paiwand and the local authorities. During the tour to the Olympic area, the group was given a tour around the Olympic park and were given details of the progress and history of the area, and how it has affected the previously poor area in a positive way. “It was so nice, I love sports and this has motivated me to work hard knowing that I have chance of being able to attend such spectacular sporting events in future.” Activity 4 London Football Journeys LFJ: This is a partnership project with four sports clubs. The London Football Journeys 2011 scheme is the first of its kind designed to facilitate understanding between young people from different PA I WA N D A N N U A L R E P O R T | 1 9 Creative Arts communities in London, supporting them to become leaders that could work on overcoming the cultural barriers that exist between different ethnic communities. During its pilot period in 2011-2012, the scheme kicked off with four groups of 12 - 14 year olds from four distinct communities in London taking part in a day of football activities; one of them being Paiwand’s under 14 football club. The day ended with the four groups passing their experience on, and playing “Home & Away” matches in their respective communities. These visits provided a platform for participants to be welcomed and introduced to a different community in London. It gave them a chance to meet leaders from the football world and other professions, to build skills in film, photography, communications, and project management (by documenting the progress of the project). The visits also facilitated intercultural learning and gave young people a voice on issues that matter to them. Activity 5 Website Design: Website Design was a two week family learning partnership project with Community Focus. The workshop was aimed at young people and their guardians/parents. It was designed to bring out their creativity and improve their technical skills. It gave participants the chance to work with latest software packages in order to design a basic website. Working together with parents and children, this project provided a platform to share ideas and help young people better communicate with their parents: ‘’I feel very happy that I am able to help my father with something.” Quote from a participant Activity 6 Ariana Football Academy: The junior and U16s football teams were affiliated with MCFA, and are playing in Middlesex County and Harrow Youth Leagues. The teams consist of 70 players from different backgrounds. They attend the regular training sessions and take part in the planned games. A recent achievement is the Junior team that successfully reached the final Cup Games. Cricket Team brings together over 20 young people to join training sessions on Saturdays. The team successfully joined a number of friendly games and a seven week Cricket Tournament. Currently, the team is preparing for an affiliation with County Cricket Club, and then planning to take part in bigger tournaments. Tae Kwon Do sessions are run at Whitefield School. Over 20 children and young people from different backgrounds attend training sessions every Saturday. The aim of this project is to boost each young person’s self confidence, discipline and help them achieve one grade/belt per year. Summer Football Tournament was a nine week, 11-a-side football competition between 14 Afghan Football teams; over 200 players and 300 supporters participated in an exciting and very emotional football tournament. Fourteen teams were playing in two divisions. The four team/two winner teams from each division took part in semi-final and final games. The winners, runners up, and third place team were presented with trophies and medals. All of the above sporting activities are run by a committed group that includes professional staff and volunteers. 2 0 | PA I WA N D A N N U A L R E P O R T Activity 7 Music classes: These classes were run at both our supplementary school reception classes. They were an introduction to the fundamental elements of music, including rhythm and melody, which are taught through fun activities, movement-based exercises and music theory classes. The sessions are designed to help improve both students’ educational needs (singing alphabet & numbers), and skills such as team-building (singing in groups), self-confidence (standing and singing) and finally, promoting good behaviour. Activity 8 Drama classes: This project is run in partnership with Attic Theatre. The aim of the project is to encourage young people to participate in drama classes and to work on improving their skills and confidence-building. The group gave an astounding performance during our supplementary school graduation ceremony, which was cheered by parents and other students. During the year 2011-2012, the drama group went on two trips: the trip to Wembley Stadium was aimed at getting them to experience an actual arena where sporting events are held; the trip to the theatre performance was to show them what can be achieved through drama. to enable parents to spend positive time with their children. Parents and Grandparents were encouraged to tell stories to children who retold the stories in their own words in English. They were also supported by professionals to make illustrations. Through the duration of the project, children and parents worked on five stories, and designed story books in three different languages. “My first story... was told to me by my grandmother in the oral tradition. These stories are tales of lifes ups and downs with messages of wisdom for us all’’ Maliha Activity 11 One World Music: This project was aimed at encouraging Afghans and refugee migrants (aged 12-18) to participate in a positive extracurricular programme that encouraged them to learn about different cultures and traditions, using music as a tool. Through this project, young people had the chance to experience how to work with experienced musicians, play various traditional instruments, learn about music production, and learn new musical skill. During the sessions, the young people also had the chance to listen to performances by tutors, different types of music, and to learn about where the music derived from. During the sessions, they were taught how to compose music, and were given the chance to experiment with various instruments from different parts of the world. The end result of the project was the production of a CD that incorporated the collaborative work of young people and musicians. The project was a huge success, and the youngsters were especially thrilled at having their work produced on CD. Activity 9 Fashion Project was part of a family learning project, in partnership with Community Focus. The two-week project was an interactive workshop where young people and their parents were shown how to express their own ideas through fashion. The project consisted of workshops on how o customise t-shirts, make accessories and experiment with different embellishment techniques, such as beading, hand stitching and ribbon work. Activity 10 Picture My Story: This is a family learning project in partnership with Community Focus. The aim of the project was The graph highlights targeted number and actual numbers of beneficiaries achieved PA I WA N D A N N U A L R E P O R T | 2 1 Activity 12 Chasing Mirrors: We are in year three of a three-year partnership with the National Portrait Gallery. This project is aimed at engaging young people in expressing feelings through arts, which were then displayed at the National Portrait Gallery. This project helped introduce young people to a different level of arts, and gave them the opportunity to experience having their art work in the public view. It was exhilorating to see the happy faces of the participants at the end the project, as they watched others admiring their work. The project provided the participants with a chance to collaborate with highprofile professional artists, develop artistic and creative skills, and explore issues of identity and representation of self image; all of which were the themes for the project. Activity 13 Close-up Project: This was part of the family learning project in partnership with Community Focus. It was also aimed at getting young people to express their creativity through film. The project consisted of using a video camera and recording interviews with friends and family members. They then had to create a documentary about a given topic and have it screened. There were 19 participants that took this project to heart and produced amazing work. Activity 14 Decade Project: This was part of the family learning project in partnership with Community Focus. The aim of this project was to enable parents and children to spend positive time together through creative activities. The group decided to work on a project to celebrate Afghan Association Paiwand’s 10 year anniversary! Through this project, it was decided to design a limited edition 2012 Paiwand diary. This project included photography and design workshops for young people and families to get involved and help design the diary. The photography and hand-written words were printed and included in the diary/planner. Activity 15 Mentoring and befriending at Whitefield, London Academy and Copland Schools: Our mentors have been working very closely with the mainstream schools to provide mentoring to young people identified and referred by the school. The aim of the project is to build mentees’ capability to progress independently, and ultimately develop resources so they can find their own solution to removing barriers. Our teachers have been working hard to provide both one-to-one and group mentoring sessions to mainly Afghan young people. This has had a profound effect on both the behaviour of the mentees, and also his/her educational performance, evidenced by the feedback from the mainstream school teachers. Football Journeys Drama Trip Fashion Project Arts - Painting 2 2 | PA I WA N D A N N U A L R E P O R T Mental Health Advocacy Hasina Sarwari, Project Manager The Mental Health Advocacy project aims to reduce the Thus far, the outcomes of this project have been executed trauma and mental distress of 100 Afghan refugees and by recruiting ten volunteers, and creating a comprehensive migrants per year, within the boroughs of Brent, Ealing and training programme for the team. Publication materials, Harrow collectively, by providing one-to-one advocacy. brochures and flyers have been produced to address each This project also strives to raise awareness of the Mental aspect of the project or workshop topic, and have been Health issues of 1,000 members of the distributed to a wide Afghan community per year. This will “I really enjoyed learning new mental health organibe achieved through organising ten sation network within specific events each year, writing articles information and look forward the specified boroughs. in local media, as well as refugee/cultural This has lead to referrals needs awareness-raising workshops for to attending similar wellbeing being made that have 30 mental health professionals per year. enabled a client case workshops in the future” load to be established. Ultimately, these actions will encourage effective partnership and referrals from In addition, Mental a broad range of services, including statutory and third Health awareness-raising workshops have been planned sector charity organisations, as well as the NHS teams. and delivered to the Afghan community with success. Mentoring Nahzley Anvarian, Project Manager The Afghan Mentoring Project was started in April 2012, to work with young Afghan children aged 11-18 years old in Harrow. The project is a partnership between four Afghan organisations, with Paiwand acting as the lead. Aim The aim of the project is to: • Improve the lives of young Afghan children by providing emotional and practical support within their own community • Support the children in making the right decision towards their own stated goals • Support the children who have been expelled from school back into education • Work with children who are in a gang, or in danger of joining one • Encourage the community members to get involved with their own community, and to volunteer for the project Achivements to date: • The project has made excellent links with local communities, schools and colleges as well as social services in Harrow. In the meantime, the project is always looking for new ways to extend and promote the service. • The Project Coordinator has arranged group sessions with young Afghan children to promote the project among them. There are already places secured for the Mentoring Project at a few colleges in Harrow, to attend their Fresher’s Fairs, held at the beginning of the 2012-13 school year. • The project has recruited around twelve volunteers who will receive training from Harrow Children’s Services in September. The volunteers are from different backgrounds, and they bring a range of skills and experiences to the project, including those working as psychologists, university graduates, teachers and a child support tribunal judge. PA I WA N D A N N U A L R E P O R T | 2 3 Supported Accommodation Service The Paiwand Supported Accommodation Service is a social enterprise that has been developed by Afghan Association Paiwand. their self-esteem, and enable them to acquire the practical skills for independent living. This project aims to relieve the housing shortage for unaccompanied children aged between 16 – 18 (up to 21) years seeking asylum in the UK. Well over 1,000 of these young people are referred to Harrow, Hillingdon, Camden, Barnet, Brent and Ealing local authorities. Hillingdon Borough Council is especially important, as it alone deals with around 1,000 minors each year. The overall aim of this service is to provide supported accommodation and associated services to unaccompanied refugee minors in North West London. We do our best to: • Provide safe accommodation that encouages mutual respect and care • Offer information about healthy living and household budgeting • Enable them to acquire the practical skills for independent living • Provide employment training • Enable them to effectively integrate into UK society • Provide an environment which is anti-discriminatory and that values diversity Paiwand’s housing project has continued to provide accommodation and life skills support for young people from both the Afghan and other refugee communities. Young people residing in our accommodation were enjoying a stimulating and positive environment that encourages young people to develop resilience and independence. They attended a large number of sports, arts and craft activities, as will as trips to Brighton and Thorpe. The project works in close partnership with the Local Authorities and other agencies to provide an effective service to young people. All of our services are delivered in accordance with the Children (Leaving Care) Act 2000, the Children Act 2004 and all relevant government and statutory regulations and guidance; and also in accordance with the Housing Act 1989, Care Standards Act 2000, Health and Safety Act 1974, and Fire Precaution Act 1971. A dedicated and experienced team of key workers with a diverse range of experiences, skills and abilities worked hard to help develop young people’s capacity to engage in productive relationships, develop ESOL Classes Most of Afghan refugees and asylum seeker, unlike some other refugees, cannot speak English when they first arrive to the UK. Many of them cannot afford to pay towards ESOL classes. Our classes are designed for young people and adults over 16 years of age, in pre elementary Level 1 and 2. Free classes are held at Whitefield School and ran by committed, and highly professional, volunteers. 2 4 | PA I WA N D A N N U A L R E P O R T Parenting Consortium Paiwand is a founding member of the Parenting Consortium led by Community Barnet, the partnership developed the Strengthening Families Strengthening Communities (SFSC) programme. Cultural/Spiritual: About how family and culture influence the values, beliefs and behaviour of them and their children. Parents are encouraged use the positive aspects of their past to achieve positive lifestyles. The programme is an inclusive 13 week parenting project that integrates various prevention and intervention strategies aimed at reducing violence against self, family and the community. It is open to all those involved in bringing up children between the ages of 3-18 years. Rites of Passage: Information and activities that build on the family, cultural and ethnic values to help their children make a successful transition from childhood to adulthood. The SFSC course promotes protective factors associated with good parenting such as developing close parent-child relationships, promoting self discipline and self esteem, as well strategies for anger management to ensure better outcomes for children. The SFSC parenting programme is structured into 5 component areas, integrated into the curriculum. Enhancing relationships: This component focuses on three areas: Enhancing parent-child relationship, developmental information, and violence prevention techniques. Parents are equipped with positive communication strategies that enable them to respond to the children’s attitudes and behaviours. Positive Discipline & Community Involvement: Courses are delivered by our trained sessional staff. Over 25 parents have successfully completed these courses. Multilingual Wellbeing Multilingual Wellbeing Services is a consortium of Black Minority Ethnic and refugee community organisations in Barnet with an expertise in mental health and wellbeing. The consortium was set up in June 2010 as a separate legal entity and registered as a Company Limited by Guarantee. Afghan Association Paiwand is a founding member. Other partners are: Barnet Refugee Service, Chinese Mental Health Association, Farsophone Association, and Somali Family Support Group. The consortium was set up in response to the needs identified by the individual partner organisations and the Community Development Workers in Barnet, in close collaboration with NHS Barnet. The overall aim of this services is to improve the mental health of BMER communities in Barnet. We do this by increasing knowledge and confidence in accessing support among wider BMER communities. We support BMER mental health service users to advocate for others suffering from mental distress in their community. We also provide counselling services in a range of different community languages. The consortium approach enables us to bring a range of communities together that would not normally come into contact with eachother. The project has successfully secured funding from Big Lottery Fund which will cover the salaries of the Full Time Service Manager, Full Time Mental Health Advocate, a part time Administrative Worker, and Counsellors. PA I WA N D A N N U A L R E P O R T | 2 5 Financial Summary STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE PERIOD ENDED 31ST MARCH 2012 Unrestricted Funds £ Designated Funds £ Restricted Funds £ Total 2011/12 £ Voluntary Income - - 295,466 295,466 Activities for Generating Funds 66,282 - - 66,282 Investment Income 10.13 - - 10.13 Incoming Resources from Charitable Activities 28,734 - - 28,734 Other Incoming Resources 2,641 - - 2,641 TOTAL INCOMING RESOURCES 97,667 - 295,466 393,133 Fundraising Trading Costs 1,630 - 503 2,133 Investment Costs( Interest on Loan) 1,611 - - 1,611 Charitable Activities 76,613 - 306,680 383,293 Governance Costs 1,220 - 100 1,320 Support Costs 15,233 - 14,803 30,036 TOTAL RESOURCES EXPENDED 96,307 - 322,085 418,392 NET INCOMING/(OUTGOING) RESOURCES 1,360 - -26,619 -25,259 Total Funds Brought Forward 51,985 - 44,719 96,704 Transfer Between Funds -66 - 66 TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD 53,279 - 18,166 INCOMING RESOURCES Incoming Resources from Generated Funds RESOURCES EXPENDED Costs of Generating Funds 71,445 The above accounts have been extracted from the accounts prepared by Alexander and were approved by the Board of Trustees at Paiwand on 27 July 2012. The full report will be submitted to the Charities Commission and to Companies House in due course. Full report is available on request and can be obtained from Paiwand Office. Shabibi Shah, Chairperson 2 6 | PA I WA N D A N N U A L R E P O R T Legal and Administrative Information Charity Number Company No: Start Of Financial Period End Of Financial Period 1139972 6632483 1 April 2011 31St March 2012 Trustees And Dirctors At 31St March 2012: Ms Shahbibi Shah (Chair Person) Mr. Charles O’Toole (Vice Chair) Mrs Suraya Sediq (Treasurer) Miss Samira Lahfa Mrs Elaheh Mahsoori The existing trustees appoint any new trustees following the provisions laid out in the organisation’s governing instrument. Legal Status: Incorporated Charity; Company Limited by Guarantee Governing Instrument: Constitution adopted 14th August 2002, revised 21st June 2004, 6th June 2006 and 10th October 2010. The charity was incorporated on 27 June 2008. Objects: Our objectives are set to reflect our community aims. Each year, our trustees review our objectives and activities to ensure they continue to reflect our aims. In carrying out this review, the trustees have considered the Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit. Paiwand’s objectives are aimed at benefitting refugees, migrants and displaced persons including, but not limited to, Afghans residing in the United Kingdom and the European Union: (1) The relief of poverty and suffering through the provision of services and advice in the areas of social welfare, benefit entitlement, healthcare, interpretation and translation, education and employment, primarily, but not exclusively, in Greater London. (2) The advancement of education and personal development through the provision of information; Supplementary and language classes; and vocational courses as well as the provision of advice about such courses. (3) The relief of suffering caused by bereavement, war, political and religious prosecution, sexual discrimination and natural disaster. Primary Bankers HSBC Bank Plc PO Box 27, 101-103 Station Road Edgware, Middlesex HA8 7JJ Independent Auditors Alexander & Associates Certified Chartered Accountants & Registered Auditors 16 Lytton Road, New Barnet, Herts EN5 5BY Our Mission Paiwand is a multicultural organisation which aims towards improving and enhancing the quality of life of the Afghan, refugee and migrant communities in London and throughout the UK. Through our ‘needs led’ services and quality delivery Paiwand champions and promotes equality and social inclusion for all Afghan, refugee and migrant communities, whilst upholding their cultural identity and endorsing integration into wider society. Our Values Paiwand upholds a set of values, beliefs and principles that guide all activities and projects. Our staff, volunteers and management committee members embrace these values, reinforcing our staff ’s commitment to working together and achieving common goals. Our values, beliefs and principles are as follows: • Give utmost priority to understanding and addressing the needs of the people and communities that we serve; • Provide proficient and effective services that promote the multicultural values of both the refugee/migrant and mainstream communities; • Maintain professionalism and continuously strive to improve and enhance the quality of our services and achieve client satisfaction; • Adhere to all policies and procedures stipulated in Paiwand’s policies guideline; • Respect the privacy and confidentiality of clients, volunteers and staff ; • Adhere to equal opportunities and recognise and respect cultural diversity; • Address and support genuine concerns of staff and volunteers; • Involve all staff and volunteers in decisionmaking to enhance the quality and diversity of the organisation and promote our ‘working together’ ethos; We ensure the provision of a quality, needs-met, culturally aware and innovative service, that reaches women, men, children and young people in London and the UK. Our Vision ‘Paiwand will be a platform to augment and advocate for equality, for the Afghan, refugee and migrant communities, and to envisage their successful integration into society as a whole ‘. Finance statement and Funding: A summary of our independently examined accounts for year ending 31st March 2012 can be found on page 25. PA I WA N D A N N U A L R E P O R T | 2 7 The Board of Trustees are satisfied with the performance of the charity during the year and its position at 31 March 2012. The Board considers the charity to be in a position to continue its activities during the upcoming year, and notes that the charity’s assets are adequate to fulfil its obligations. It is the policy of the charity that reserves to cover three months operating costs plus potential redundancy liabilities. The minimum reserves will be two months operating costs. Afghan Association Paiwand relies on grant aid from the donors identified in the current accounts whose support is valued, as well as voluntary contributions of beneficiaries, e.g. students at our Supplementary and Mother Tongue Schools; also Paiwand started its social enterprise activities by providing services to local schools and other stakeholders. There have been no other fundraising activities. Current Funding We have received the following funding to achieve our aims during the past year: Big Lottery Fund remains our main grant provider and covered the salaries of the Association’s Director, part time Community Advocate and its Administration & Financial workersS. It also covers office rent and part of other running costs. Trust for London covers the salary of Community Advocate and overheads for the advocacy project in Barnet. Harrow Council covers the cost of children’s education and family learning related to Harrow Weekend School. We have also been awarded a small grant to undertake a community needs-analysis. BBC Children in Need covers the salary of the Youth Project Manager and activities for children and young people. Jack Petchey Foundation is an award scheme for young people active participation in arts, sports and educational activities. Positive Activities Fund/Barnet covers the cost of Arts & Crafts activities for young people in Barnet. John Loy’s Charity covers the salary of the part time Education Project Manager and the cost related to the education activities for children attending Supplementary School. Afghan Association Paiwand 10th floor Hyde House, The Hyde Colindale NW9 6LH Tel: 020 8905 8770 E: info@paiwand.com
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