St Hildas Boundary Womens Project
Members of the Boundary Women's Project visit “Bagaan” a beautiful hand embroidered wall hanging
The Boundary Women’s Project is a project based at St. Hilda's East Community Centre, which is a thriving community centre in the heart of the Boundary Estate in the Weavers Ward in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It provides educational, social and recreational activities for a multi-cultural, vibrant community of all ages.
St Hilda’s currently has 17 Projects and Services that work with and provide assistance to all age groups within the local community. Projects range from pre-school activities and family support, through youth projects, advice service and volunteering, to carers respite and work with older people.
Boundary Women’s Project itself aims to meet the diverse needs of its service users through providing low level skills training and opportunities for them to take part in. The Boundary Women’s Project currently (in September 2010) provides ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) Classes at two levels, IT Classes, Women’s Forum, Fitness Sessions and Sewing. These are ALL WOMEN ONLY sessional activities and are supported by our in house crèche service. The Boundary Women’s Project also provides a tailored one to one support and outreach service for women who feel that they require it, to provide support for issues such as domestic violence, extended family pressures and to help overcome isolation or social exclusion. The Project also provides other training periodically and depending on funding and has also in the past provided First Aid, Food Hygiene, Swimming, Pilates, Yoga, Embroidery Skills, Cooking, Canvas Painting among many, many others.
The Boundary Women’s Project through one to one support and sessional activities essentially helps to equip women with the confidence to first of all participate in the local community, then build an awareness of the services available around them and finally assist them in adding to their skills base whether it be ESOL Entry Level 1, a relevant NVQ course or assist in finding paid employment. The Boundary Women’s Project in essence facilitates the process of helping women realise their own potential.
For example, a Bangladeshi Woman had lived in on the Boundary Estate for the past 21 years of her life and yet had never attended a medical appointment alone. After attending sessions provided by the Women’s Project, in particular ESOL, she gained the confidence to be able to do things for herself and without the need for extra support.
The Boundary Women’s Project currently has a membership of 180 local women (September 2010), who are predominantly of Muslim Bangladeshi background – this being as a result of the demography of the local area. The Boundary Women’s Project also believes in working in partnership to deliver its aims and objectives and hence is a member of the Muslim Women’s Collective. It has in the past and will hopefully in the future partner with the Friends of Arnold Circus, Ulfah Arts and Muslim Women Music Makers, BRAC UK, LifeLong Learning, Geffrye Museum, Little Oaks Children’s Centre among many others. The Boundary Women’s Project hopes that by working together we can create better services and hence greater experiences for all the women that we collectively work with.
Address & Contact Details
St Hilda’s Centre
18 Club Row
London
E2 7EY
Contact: Harfiyah Haleem
Tel: 020 8886 9952
Email: harfiyah.haleem@ifees.org.uk
Web: www.ifees.org.uk
MUSLIM WOMEN'S COLLECTIVE
Supporting and empowering the women’s voice in Tower Hamlets…
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Contact Us
Wapping Womens Centre
Philchurch Place, Pinchin Street
London E1 1PJ
Telephone: 020 7702 0036
Email: sufia.alam@muslimwomenscollective.org.uk