Young people in Slough will use the arts, music and story-telling to encourage harmony between Slough’s diverse communities, thanks to Thames Valley Housing (TVH).
Slough-based charity, Aik Saath, has received £2,000 from TVHs Community Chest fund, to train young people as conflict resolution mentors working in Slough primary schools.
Aik Saath, which means ‘Together as One’ in Hindi, Punjabi and Urdu, works with all members of Slough’s diverse population, to promote racial harmony and community cohesion.
Rob Deeks, Project Manager at the charity, said, “We are really grateful to receive this funding from TVH as it will allow us to extend the work we do into more primary schools.”
“In the past there has been conflict between different communities living in Slough. Aik Saath was set up to help prevent this happening again.”
The new mentors will work with the young children exploring issues around conflict, cultural identity and racial stereotyping by sharing personal experience as well making crafts and songs.
Rob said, “Our great strength is that most of the work we do is carried out by young people as they can engage with their peer group really quickly and effectively. Even our Training Team, who will be preparing the new mentors for their roles, are a group of highly skilled volunteers aged between 12 and 25.”
As well as going into primary schools, Aik Saath works in secondary schools, youth centres, colleges and university, delivering workshops and courses on conflict resolution, anti-racism and bullying.
Sahil Khan, Community Investment Manager at Thames Valley Housing, said “By giving young people the skills to take control of situations through understanding and respect, rather than hatred and violence, this fantastic project is carrying out a vital role ensuring a positive future for everyone within our communities.”
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For more information about TVH’s Community Chest Fund, contact Rosalind Grozier, Communications Officer, or phone her on 0208 607 0886.
Images:
Top image: Conflict resolution mentors at their training evening, with Rob Deep, front row, right.
Bottom image: Three conflict resolution mentors at their training evening.
Notes to Editors
1.Thames Valley Housing is based in Twickenham, South West London and houses a wide range of people who have many different needs. Founded in 1966, the association owns, manages and administers loans for over 14,000 properties in London, Berkshire, Surrey, Hampshire, Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Wiltshire and Sussex, and has 679 properties under construction. Thames Valley Housing provides affordable rented homes, shared ownership, market rent, student and key worker accommodation, working with eight NHS Trusts.
2. The words 'Aik Saath' mean 'Together As One' in Hindi, Punjabi and Urdu. They also embody the ethos of our charity- we believe in working with people from all communities, faiths and backgrounds to prevent violence and hatred and to strengthen community cohesion.
Aik Saath was established in response to gang violence between young people from Asian backgrounds in Slough in the late 1990s. The founders of our organisation believed that young people needed to lead the efforts to resolve this conflict and over 13 years later young people are still leading our efforts to build peace and encourage cohesion in our communities.
Our projects are led by the peer training team- a group of over one hundred young volunteers aged between 12 and 21. They train other young people- our principle beneficiaries- in conflict resolution skills and the knowledge to strengthen community cohesion, in a variety of settings, including primary schools, secondary schools and youth centres.