Story: Charlotte Munro
Parents from across Sheffield received awards from the Lord Mayor at the first Sheffield Family Learning Awards held at the Town Hall in February 2007.
Some of the parents are part of FamilyNet, an Objective One funded project running at 8 schools including Pye Bank, Byron Wood, Firs Hill and St Catherine’s. 30 families from each school received a computer last year with internet access to use at home. Workshops and courses take place in the schools to help parents get the most out of their new equipment.
Husna Andishmand, a FamilyNet parent with children at Firs Hill School, tells her story:
“It was a very wonderful day in my life. I was nervous and excited. It was like my dream come true; I could never imagine getting an award for learning from the Mayor.
“I was born into a family who always encouraged me to learn. I studied very hard in Afghanistan to become a doctor. I studied for four years. Unfortunately women were stopped from studying. This was a very dark time for education and for women. I thought that I could never learn again.
“Since coming to Sheffield in 2004, I have achieved English qualifications at Castle College. I have also studied Health and Social care as a way to get into medicine again.
“I started doing family learning at Firs Hill School through FamilyNet. I learnt how to use the computer and am doing a course called ‘e-citizen’ at the moment.
"Thank you to my teachers at Sheffield College and FamilyNet for helping me. Thank you also to the Lord Mayor. You have showed me a bright future for me and my children.”
FamilyNet award winners
Byron Wood: Maryan Ali, Khadra Elmi, Tony Hall.
St Catherine’s: Kathryn Todd, Wajid Nazir and Shabana Wajid.
Firs Hill: Husna Andishmand (pictured), Wendy Moxam.
Pye Bank: Lisa Horsfield, Deborah Allison, Fosiya Deria, Rahma Ali