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I was excited when I landed at Manchester, but also had a fear of the unknown of living with a new cultural family for three weeks under the aegis of the Community Xchange of the British Council.
After I arrived I settled in with my host family seamlessly. The next day I attended the in country orientation where I met my counterpart Martina Roche, who I absolutely adore, a professional dancer working for Salford Community Leisure, with whom I had only talked to online before.
Martina shared the work plan for me and she had taken into account that I am an artist, making it all the more relevant. This orientation was followed by an informal lunch that was enjoyable because of the fun and spicy discussion.
During my stay I attended sessions with toddlers, hyper pre-school children, bubbly teenagers, the physically challenged, strong pregnant teenagers and young and older women. These sessions were focused on confidence boosting, maintaining balance, physical health and mental healing by using the arts and particularly dance as a tool. Throughout the sessions I was amazed and inspired by Martina’s efforts in building a positive attitude, social cohesion and a constructive thought process in the people she was working with. I was there as an observer, a helper and a learner. I was learning first hand what it meant to help people. It was fun working with Martina on the logos of various dance sessions. We even designed a t-shirt for a community event based on the theme of the British Council’s Community Exchange project. |
I was fascinated by the team building warm up session where I got a chance to learn basics of Salsa. Our interview regarding the project for the press release created a lot of hype in town.
She took me to wonderful places and events in Salford. We went out to the Oldham shopping centre, Charlton Women’s International Day’s launch where we got an Indian massage and to the beautiful contemporary Lowry Centre where I watch a live dancing group.
I went on an infotainment city tour where I saw the historical old buildings like the Town Hall, Royal Exchange Theatre, the Police Station, and Manchester University all standing in their state of grace in their curved medieval outfits in contrast to the contemporary embodiments of Urbis and the Hilton Tower.
I fell in love with the Cathedrals and Synagogue buildings that echoed saintly and elevated beliefs. As an artist, I found this to be a wonderful opportunity to soak in all these monoliths of culture. This experience has rejuvenated me and these are experiences I shall always cherish.
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“I was chosen to shadow work Balvinder Kaur Pahal, who is a youth worker working in the Longsight, Manchester service for young Asian women in the UK through the British Council’s Community Xchange programme.
I work with young people in Pakistan but my work is more general than Balvinder’s who works on a discrete and sensitive issue. She is a strong and independent woman; on the other hand, I am younger, less experienced and a little more traditional. I and Balvinder are very different people, but our aims are the same which is to help people in any way we can. That shared passion brought us together.
As the District Project Manger of the Lahore Youth Assembly, the British Council’s Community Xchange programme was my chance to work in a more culturally diverse atmosphere. It was my interest in other cultures that led me to apply. I must say it was an eye opening experience to gain insight into the historical and cultural makeup of different groups and the problems that can create sometimes. I learnt to observe how young people are facilitated and how the unwillingness of young people is handled, worked on a youth session with the AL-Halal youth club, learnt fundraising techniques and also was invited to the Rochldale Rotary Club amongst many other things.
In addition to the work I was doing in the UK I developed linkages with valuable contacts for my Youth Assembly in Lahore. I went to the UK for three weeks, but the effects are going to happily be long term. I noticed the UK youth are very confident because of the strong support of government and other services, and I really want to develop that here in my community.
Honestly, if I have to repeat the same experience of the community Xchange, I will not hesitate to do it. It has had a huge impact on me professionally, but more importantly on me as a person. Thank you British Council!
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I was chosen as counterpart to Steven Langdon; he is the Policy Manager Ethnicity and Diversity at Stockport Council and I am District Project Manger for Youth Parliament of Pakistan in Multan. That gave us a lot in common and by the grace of Allah I was able to adjust easily during the three weeks I spent in the UK. The entire trip resonates with unforgettable memories, whether of the diverse things I learned, or of what I represented as a Pakistani visitor. Two moments stand out; once when a cute little girl – hardly five years old – asked me for a pound coin. When I asked what she wanted the coin for, she handed me a flyer for a dog charity and explained she was collecting money to help the animals. I froze for a moment, completely surprised. It brought tears to my eyes to see how devoted these young people were to helping others, and it imbued me with new spirit, inspired me to work with just as much passion and enthusiasm for my country. |
Then there was that time I went to observe a classroom and taught the young pupils a new dance move. They were stunned that a Pakistani man was teaching them about dance – I don’t think I can ever forget the look on their faces!
Community Xchange gave me a great opportunity to observe how the UK government and volunteer organizations work for young people, and how to involve whole communities in healthy activities. These days I am putting the experience to good use and implementing the ideas and methods in my own district. Not only that, but I will soon be setting up a volunteer programme with a well-known charity hospital in Multan based on the knowledge I gained from the exchange visit.
I have already started missing being in the programme, and if I get another chance to participate in Community Xchange in the future, I wouldn’t hesitate for a second. It has been great. Bravo, British Council!
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