Weekly Column: Mayor Mohammed Zaman
Date published: 29 March 2019
Mayor Mohammed Zaman
The weekly column from the Mayor of Rochdale, Councillor Mohammed Zaman, is about the places he has been and the people he has met during the week commencing Monday 18 March to Sunday 24 March 2019.
Springhill Hospice has recently achieved 30 years of serving the Rochdale community and on behalf of myself and the whole of the borough, I would like to say how proud I am of the hospice staff and volunteers, both past and present, for their work at Springhill over the years.
This is an organisation that has a great impact on families and friends; making end of life the beginning of a new life. My words cannot describe and appreciate enough the good work they do. I wish them all the best for future years.
Another thing I am proud of is our community cohesion, integration and community relationships as faith communities throughout the town are doing their best to promote peace and solidarity. Last week, two of our faith leaders won an award for bringing communities together – Imam Hassanat of Bilal Mosque and Reverend Mark Coleman of Rochdale Parish Church of St Chad’s – for the work they continuously do for Rochdale.
The twinning of Bilal Mosque and St Chad’s has made connections stronger between various communities and aids the understanding of one another’s faith. Congratulations to both of them.
Week commencing Monday 18 March – Sunday 24 March
Monday, I had a meeting with Michael Bamford from Re-Use Littleborough. I have visited the shop a few times and really appreciate any volunteer work carried out. There is a collection of all sorts of items such as books, toys and clothes that can be re-used locally, but are also being looked at distributed globally to those in third world countries.
I hope they can find a worthy organisation who will fairly distribute the items sent to them. A huge thank you to Michael and his wife and all the volunteers for helping others in their time of need. May God bless you all for your efforts.
I visited Brimrod Primary School and was very impressed by all of their school displays and classes in action as I had a tour. It was clear that the school staff deliver quality teaching in a friendly and safe environment.
I had a debate with the school council and answered any questions they wished to ask. They asked me about the mayor’s role, what I do on a daily basis and how long I’m going to be the mayor. They showed great wisdom at their age, and I was happy to educate them.
Thank you to the young people on the school council, the headteacher and all the staff for inviting me for to visit.
Tuesday, I had a meeting about my Mayor’s Charity Ball to discuss entertainment, food, timing and general organisation of the event. I hope it is going to be a great evening, with only 2 weeks to go.
Wednesday, I attended a community knitting event in the reception room at Rochdale Town Hall organised by Living Well. People from the whole borough displayed their work and skills as live knitting demonstrations took place. It was a great opportunity for people who share the same passions and interests to come together and learn from each other.
I have requested to make this an annual event as I want to help the knitters have a larger network.
Thank you to those who donated prizes for the Mayor’s Charity Appeal raffle and offered their support and thank you to Hayley Tomlinson and her colleagues at Living Well for putting this event together.
The Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, then joined me at the town hall for an event that welcomed all the service providers, groups and volunteers who help the homeless in Rochdale.
We have so many volunteers in Rochdale who carry out this work in their own time and I am so proud that Rochdale is setting an example of alliance with everyone working together for the same outcome.
Wednesday evening, I was invited to Gracie Fields Theatre for the Duke of Edinburgh boroughwide awards evening. The training for this award is not easy and I was so pleased to see how many young people had worked hard to achieve it. A lot of commitment, motivation and team work is needed.
Steve Hill MBE gave an inspirational presentation on charity fundraising and how he raises money by travelling to different countries to take part in different activities.
Well done and congratulations again to all the young people who completed the Duke of Edinburgh award.
Thursday, I went to Rochdale Connections Trust who are doing wonderful work in the borough. I was invited to watch a drama ‘Crossing the Line’, produced in conjunction with M6 Theatre, about how young people can become involved and be influenced by gangs and drug rings.
It was a very emotional performance that emitted a powerful message to parents, carers and young people of how we need to protect our relationships with loved ones and pay close attention to the world around us.
Friday, I officially opened a playground on Ings Lane. This is a much-needed facility for local children and the school nearby, which was proved as the opening was attended by many local residents. Thank you to Phil Massey, chair of the Spotland and Falinge local area forum, for inviting me and to Tony Lloyd for joining me.
Thank you also to all who made it possible for this facility to be provided for families.
Friday afternoon, I visited Lancashire Farm Dairies at the Pakeeza Factory on Moss Bridge Road who stock their products in shops across the UK such as ASDA and Farmfoods. MP Tony Lloyd and Chris Norwood from RDA also joined me as we witnessed how a local business that was developed from scratch has done very well and is providing so many jobs for the local community.
Thank you to the staff at the factory for their hospitality and for giving us a presentation about the business. It was a very interesting visit.
Saturday, a flag raising at the town hall was held for Pakistan Resolution Day. We held a one minute silence for the victims of Christchurch terror attack and spoke of the history of the national day.
Those in attendance included community organisations, young people, Pakistani and Kashmiri Community Association, Sahiwal Working Group and local councillors who all joined in the flag raising. I am always happy to see unity among our community as we celebrate.
Once again, I would like to pay my tribute to all those who lost their lives fighting for the independence of Pakistan.
Saturday also welcomed the Great British Spring Clean, with townships in our borough coming together to take part in various litter picks and clean up campaigns. I attended two – one in Norden and another at Spotland Methodist Church with councillor Faisal Rana.
It was good to see local people taking pride in the area they live and cleaning up their neighbourhoods, especially young people who took responsibility and joined in as they recognised the importance of our streets being tidy.
Thank you to Paul Ellison for inviting me to Norden and to Faisal and Phil Massey who invited me to the clean-up in Spotland.
As a last minute engagement, I joined a family fun day at Castlemere Community Centre in support of Ummah Welfare Trust. The day included an auction, bric-a-brac, toy stall, halal pies, arts and crafts, face painting, bouncy castle, beauty stalls and appearances from Minnie and Mickey Mouse.
Ummah Welfare Trust aims to alleviate poverty and suffering across the world, inspired by the Islamic teachings of empathy, generosity and selflessness.
Well done to those who organised this great day for families to enjoy in aid of a worthy cause.
I was invited to Queen Elizabeth Hall in Oldham for a Girl Guide event – the North West England Trefoil Guild. It is the 76th anniversary of the group this year and hundreds turned up to attend.
Thank you to Eileen Higgs, the regional chair for the guild, who invited me. This event inspired me to always give help when needed and try to make communities stronger.
Saturday evening, I went to the Norton Grange hotel with my daughter, Mayoress Naaira Zaman, for an ‘Empowering Women’ event aimed to celebrate womanhood globally. This is an annual pre-mother's day event where global women are celebrated and is put together by local women.
It provides ladies with the opportunity to network, make new friends, eat, dance and be merry. Thank you to Nicky Ingila from Sharing and Caring for inviting us along.
Castlemere Community Centre held a Mayor’s Charity Dinner, organised by the Sahiwal Working Group and the Pakistan Welfare Association. Sahiwal’s twinning with Rochdale began in 1989, so this was also a 30-year celebration of a great connection between two towns.
We discussed the projects that people in Rochdale have done for Sahiwal and members of the Sahiwal party were awarded for the services they provide for the twinning.
Sunday, I went to the Royal Toby Hotel for Heywood Lions Club Charter Anniversary Lunch. I learnt of the good work the club is doing both locally, nationally and internationally and how they support many events and activities to raise funds for charities.
I am grateful to the group for inviting me to join them in having a nice meal, listening to the guest speaker who was inspirational and am thankful for their donation to the Mayor’s Charity. Thank you to Steve Brown for inviting me to this wonderful afternoon to remember.
Evening, I went to the European Islamic Centre in Oldham for a big event organised in honour of some of the anchors in the Pakistan TV and media industry. This was organised by A1 TV who also gave prizes and certificates to people who had outstanding performance and business work in the media.
Finally, I was invited to the Odeon cinema at Sandbrook Park as they were showing Pakistan films as part of the Pakistan Film Festival. I watched the Pakistani film ‘Raham’ that talks about the cultural music, traditions, arts and the struggles faced when wanting to achieve dreams. Thank you to Tasneem from Communitea who invited me.
Mayoral Invitations
The Mayor welcomes invitations to events held by local organisations and individuals. Due to demand, it may not be possible for the Mayor to attend every event he is invited to.
To invite the Mayor to your event please complete the Mayor attendance form and return it to the Mayor's Officer.
Visit: www.rochdale.gov.uk/council-and-democracy/mayors/Pages/mayoral-invitations.aspx
Email: mayoral@rochdale.gov.uk
Tel: 01706 92477
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