Weekly Column: Mayor Mohammed Zaman

Date published: 05 October 2018

Week commencing Monday 24 – Sunday 30 September

Monday, I had a meeting with representatives from Sahiwal - Rochdale’s twin town in Pakistan – to further establish and strengthen the link between the two towns. Mr Ehsan Ul Haq, a former chairman of the Municipal Committee of Sahiwal, and Mr Mumtaz Choudry, a well-respected businessman and president of the Rotary Club in Sahiwal, both enjoyed their visit to Rochdale and a tour of the Town Hall.

They complimented and appreciated the support that the Friends of Sahiwal (based in Rochdale) have provided over the years to maintain this link. We hope that the link will continue to develop in the future.

I had a meeting with Robert Cooper, the Director of Community Services at Henshaw’s Trust. The trust has a very interesting and inspirational history to teach us how one person, after his death, can make a huge difference to many individuals.

Henshaw’s was established when an Oldham businessman left £20,000 in his will to build an asylum for blind people in Manchester. An original asylum from his donation was built in Old Trafford in 1837, which opened many new doors for blind people.

I was interested to learn the issues that blind people face and what resources can be offered to help blind people in Rochdale, as well as how the trust can work with Rochdale to support those with disabilities.

I visited Rochdale Rostrum at the Royal Toby Hotel. For the past 30 years, the Rostrum group have run weekly training sessions on presentation skills and public speaking, offering great help to those who have an ambition to develop their confidence.

I attended this training in 2016 and learnt a number of attributes on public speaking and presentation skills. It definitely developed my skills, whilst boosting my confidence, and I received a lot of support from the group.

I was warmly welcomed by Wajida Bukhari, chairperson, and Kevin Hawkins, secretary of Rostrum and everyone present. Thank you for your kind words and best wishes.

 

 

Monday evening, I visited Middleton Rotary Club at the Norton Grange Hotel with two guests, Mumtaz Choudry (from the rotary club in Sahiwal) and Shamsad Ali. It was great honour to visit the Rotarians as I learnt about the activities and projects they host and the local, national and international charities they support.

The meeting was chaired by Kit Wellens, president of Middleton Rotary Club, and included a talk from a guest speaker from the Canal Trust. The speaker displayed a very interesting presentation on the work that the canal trust does throughout the region and how they deal with day to day issues of pollution and the cleaning work they have done in Rochdale.

I am very grateful to Kit Wellens, Janice Sawle and their colleagues for their warm welcome and kind hospitality. A truly inspiring experience, in a short time spent with the family of Middleton Rotarians.

 

 

Tuesday saw a very successful, first ever pensioners convention in the Great Hall of Rochdale Town Hall. Pensioners from Middleton, Heywood, Rochdale, Littleborough and Milnrow turned up in good numbers to enjoy the day.

https://www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/news-features/2/news-headlines/122498/pensioner%E2%80%99s-convention-held-at-rochdale-town-hall

The purpose of this event was to provide senior citizens with the opportunity to come together, socialise with other groups and individuals, network and organise social get togethers, outings and events with new friends.

I would like to thank John Aitken and his Ambition for Ageing team at Kashmiri Youth Project and Dorothy Johnstone and the staff at the town hall for organising this event and making sure that it ran smoothly. Huge thanks also to the volunteers on the information stalls and to the people who donated prizes for the raffle, which raised a total of £200. Finally, thanks to Neil Gibbons and Alison for hosting the entertainment, Katie from Rochdale Online and the council communications team for providing excellent coverage.

I also can’t forget to say a big thank you to the pensioners and their carers who attended this event.

 

 

On Wednesday, I welcomed a Chinese delegation from the Guangxi Zhuang region of China to the town hall. This visit was organised through David Williams, a lecturer at Oxford University and a former councillor of Rochdale.

The delegation from China visited Rochdale as part of a study on ‘Rural Developments in Urban Areas’. Members of the delegation visited the Co-Operative Museum and Touchstones before coming to the Town Hall, where they had a tour and a buffet lunch.

The group leader Wu Xi Xi and 20 members of his delegation were given a presentation by Rochdale Development Agency (RDA) on the town’s development, followed by an opportunity to ask questions and a tour of the town centre development site to see the work in progress.

Mr Wu and his team enjoyed their visit to Rochdale and all send their best wishes and greetings to people of the Rochdale borough. Thank you to David Williams for organising this visit.

 

 

I was invited to Unity House at Kashmiri Youth Project (KYP) for their Annual Apprentice Awards Evening. I was welcomed by Zulf Ali, Chief Executive of KYP and over 100 trainees and their parents attended this presentation evening.

I spoke to trainees and their parents about the historical background of KYP and how the organisation has developed its activities and built closer ties with voluntary and statutory organisations over the past 39 years. Two particular areas of work that KYP has done well with over the years is their youth work and providing day care for senior citizens, in addition to provision of training, childcare, advice and other community activities.

Successful trainees were awarded certificates for completing a variety of vocational training courses, in different categories and levels. Thank you to all the trainers, supporting staff and the management committee of KYP. Well done and keep up your good work.

 

 

Thursday, I had a follow up meeting with Councillor Susan Smith to select poems and pictures to be included in the first edition of the late Julia McClay's poetry book.

https://www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/news-features/138/community-news/120670/book-of-poems-to-be-published-in-memory-of-gifted-writer

After a brief discussion on the design and layout, it was agreed to produce an A5 poetry book with 30 poems, including pictures and illustrations. We hope to have this poetry book ready in January, with the launch to take place towards the end of January 2019.

I had visitors from five different countries Thursday afternoon, as I hosted a group of 55 young people on an International Youth Exchange visit to Rochdale. This exchange was organised and hosted by Mohammed Sheraz, my consort.

These young people came from places such as Turkey, Estonia, Latvia, Czech Republic and from different cities in the UK. They were greeted by Tony Lloyd MP and leader of the council, councillor Allen Brett. After a brief introduction and short presentations in the council chambers, they were given a tour of the magnificent Town Hall.

The group were here for a week and visited historical sites in Rochdale and some prominent places in the North West to learn more about diversity, the environment, our cultures and to make a positive connection with various groups in the North West. It was nice to hear that they were having a good time in Rochdale.

Thanks given to Mohammed Sheraz and the team of Empowering Mind and staff at the town hall for making their visit a memorable event.

 

 

Friday, I was invited by Sarah Mahmood, ex member of Youth Parliament, to accompany her to Lady Diana’s Awards Presentation at Leeds College of Music. These awards were established in 1999, in memory of Lady Diana, the Princess of Wales, and are the most prestigious awards a young person can receive for their social or humanitarian work.

Sarah Mahmood received this award for working tirelessly to change the lives of young people; she campaigned on issues affecting young people and successfully raised funds for local charities, including Springhill Hospice. She also took part in a House of Commons debate to demand more awareness of mental health and support, reform of GCSE re-sits and transport issues. As a result of her mental health campaign, she secured funding for two additional mental health workers in Rochdale.

This was a great achievement for Sarah and another success story for Rochdale.

 

 

Saturday, I was interviewed for Roch Valley Radio at Fairfield General Hospital.

Tim Moore, presenter of the community corner programme, asked questions about my journey from a textile worker to joining politics, becoming a councillor and then Mayor of Rochdale. He asked how I see myself in this role and what is it like when I attend official engagements and also enquired about my nominated charities and how my fundraising projects are going.

Roch Valley Radio is broadcasted across all four sites of Pennine Acute hospitals. It is free to listen to and offers a variety of programmes, music and useful information for patients. We discussed the possibility of organising a road show to raise awareness on mental health issues and raise funds for the Mayor's charity in the new year.

I would like to thank Tim Moore and David Murphy for their kind hospitality and for giving me the opportunity to introduce myself to a wider audience.

 

 

Saturday evening, I was invited to attend the 30th anniversary of Rochdale Heartbeat. This Heartbeat ball aimed to raise funds for Rochdale Heartbeat, one of my chosen charities for this year.

Sue Ridgard, secretary of Heartbeat, and volunteers organised the dinner, which over 140 people attended. Sue gave a brief introduction on what Rochdale Heartbeat is and the work her team have carried out including installing a number of defibrillators on community sites to save lives.

The evening included wonderful live music and entertainment that was enjoyed by everyone and a number of raffle prizes were donated to raise further funds. Awareness was raised on heart disease, prevention measures and the opportunity to network with people from different areas and backgrounds was provided. Ian Sandiford, Deputy Lieutenant, and Councillor Ann Stott also attended this charity event.

Congratulations and thanks to Sue Ridgard for organising such an excellent charity ball.

 

 

Sunday, I was invited to St Chad's Church for a Service of Commemoration to mark the 74th anniversary of the Battle of Arnhem that was fought in September 1944. In this operation, 10,000 men safely landed at Arnhem to take part in the battle of Arnhem, out of which, 1,400 were killed and more than 6,000 were captured.

The service was led by Reverend Margaret Smith and Rochdale Parachute Regimental Association took part in the commemoration. Two minutes silence was held to pay respect to all those fallen heroes. We will always remember them.

After the service, guests were invited to the Ukrainian Centre, where they were served with drinks and a buffet meal. Thanks to the volunteers at the Ukrainian centre for their hospitality.