Making their Mark in Hackney

Aysha was only 14 when she came to the Conversations for Change workshops run by the Tutu Foundation UK.  From a Muslim family of Pakistani origin she was born and brought up in Hackney in East London.  “Hackney gets a lot of bad press,” she admitted, “it’s easy to say ‘oh this community’s bad.’  But what are you prepared to do?  It’s no good just complaining about it.”  So, attracted by a project which offered the opportunity to get involved in bringing positive change to the community, Aysha came along to the workshops.  An articulate and confident young woman, there she met several other young people equally passionate about playing their part in bringing peace locally including 18 year old twins, Zanele and Zenani who had come at the invitation of a friend at church.  “We discovered we only lived across the road from each other but we’d never met.”

Following the workshops, the girls decided to use their new skills and understanding of reconciliation and conflict-resolution to organise a Hackney Ubuntu Peace Day. With food and refreshments, all-age activities, entertainment on the theme of peace and lots of stalls from local organisations – most provided by the community and all provided for free – the Hackney Ubuntu Peace Day was a huge success, with over 700 people attending.

The highlight was a community meal featuring the diversity of local traditions and cultures. “One of our key aims was to mix older and younger,” Aysha (14) recalled, “and this is something that happened on the day.  We also had folk from rival gangs and from difficult situations or backgrounds that came, but nothing went wrong.” Zanele, (18) added, “I’ve always wanted to do something where I can make a lasting mark on society and the community.”

The girls have since been nominated for the London Peace Alliance Peace Awards, hosted by Mayor Boris Johnson, and have gone on to run a further peace event in Hackney in April 2011.