Weekly Column: Mayor Mohammed Zaman

Date published: 01 August 2018

First, I would like to recognise the amount of voluntary work completed by individuals, groups and organisations throughout the borough, which I really appreciate.

People of all ages and from diverse backgrounds volunteer together with good interaction; learning new skills every day and sharing information. It is really encouraging to see, and I thank volunteers who are keen to promote community cohesion and make a difference.

Week commencing Monday 23 – Sunday 29 July

Monday, Friday and Sunday I had no engagements.

Tuesday, I attended a Friends of Rochdale Town Hall (FoRTH) meeting. Members of the community formed this group many years ago to look at various activities going on in the town hall and how they could promote the building and its history.

The Town Hall attracts people from all over the world and I am glad the group continue to take good care of the building and are passionate to attract new visitors.

At the meeting, the friends were very pleased to learn that the Town Hall has received funding to make changes and therefore attract newcomers. We also discussed national heritage week (18 – 26 August) which aims to educate communities on our heritage, whilst raising awareness on the conservation and preservation of buildings. We hope we can market the town hall during this time.

Wednesday, I briefly attended a make up masterclass at the town hall in aid of the Mayor’s charities. A number of people work to raise funds for my charities across all four townships and for this I am very grateful.

Ex member of the youth parliament, Sarah Mahmood, organised this fundraising event which had very good attendance. Sobia Suleman, a well-known beautician in the community, led the class and gave presentations, beauty tips and held a question and answer session for attendees. I spoke at the end of the class, of which everyone praised and gave positive feedback.

Overall, the event raised just over £350 and I hope the ladies can hold more sessions in the future. I thank all participants, and Sarah and Sobia, for bringing people together whilst raising money for a good cause. Through this event I also recruited a few new volunteers.

Later, I presented certificates to young people who took part in and completed The Prince’s Trust programme over six weeks. This programme is for people aged 11 to 30 who are currently unemployed or struggling at school but want to pursue opportunities that will help them progress in life.

The programme includes group work, individual activities and first aid training: it is excellent and motivates whilst boosting their confidence. Councillors Peter Rush, Ray Dutton and Peter Malcolm along with officers of Fire Seevice, Prince’s Trust and parents attended this presentation evening.

I send congratulations to all the young people involved and praise them for all their hard work over this course.

I then had a meeting with Tony Lloyd, MP for Rochdale, for a catch up as we both have so many engagements. The MP for Rochdale organises a charity dinner every year to support the Mayor’s charities. Tony is currently looking for a guest speaker.

Thursday, I was invited to Number One Riverside for a Community Volunteer Festival, hosted by Link4Life. This event was so busy with stalls providing useful information on boroughwide services available.

As I went around and spoke to each stall, they all commented on how they need to recruit more volunteers. If young people within the borough are struggling with experience or are searching for work experience, I suggest volunteering with one of these organisations.

This festival was very successful, and I want to thank the organiser, Barry Woodburn, and the Link4Life team for hosting it.

I attended an event at Deeplish Community Centre titled ‘Improving the environment, encouraging recycling and saving money’. This was an open day organised by NCS (National Citizen Service) young people, who are based at Deeplish Community Centre.

Stalls were provided to give information on what items should go in which bin, as well as healthy food stalls to encourage healthy eating and the council’s environmental team talked about the effect of plastic bags. All attendees, both parents and children, said this event was incredibly useful.

It’s good to see that the borough is doing well but we need to continue to encourage people to improve their recycling skills. I think it is especially important to teach the younger generation benefits of recycling as this is what will affect their future.

http://www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/news-features/2/news-headlines/121002/recycling-team-shortlisted-for-award-as-borough-recycling-rates-hit-almost-50pc

I want to thank and congratulate Councillor Neil Emmott and Director of Neighbourhoods Mark Widdup for reaching their recycling target and doing a good job in keeping our townships clean and green.

Saturday, I went to Morrisons in Heywood for a bag pack in aid of the Mayor’s Charity. This was organised by the Heywood Cadets, who take part in the bag pack every year to fundraise. Ex-Mayor of Rochdale, Ray Dutton, also joined me to help with the bag pack.

This regular event at Morrisons raised over £500 last year, however I’m not sure yet on the amount we raised this time.

I thank the Heywood Air Cadets and the staff at Morrisons for allowing them to host this and use the space to raise money. I also thank the local businesses and residents who supported the Mayor’s charities; helping the local community make a difference through their charity work.

My final event of the week was going to Crescent Radio to promote a charity event being held at the town hall. This event is for Pakistan’s 71st Independence Day and I hope many locals will come and show their support. The night will definitely be entertaining as we have a famous folk singer from Pakistan attending.

I thank Crescent Radio and the host, Anwar Shad, who are always supportive.