Projects for Young people in Page Hall

Story: Arzoo and Farah, Jigsaw youth workers

The young people’s services at the Pakistan Advice & Community Association on Page Hall Road have been involved with some exciting projects over the last few months. At the moment, there are several projects running for youths in the centre:

‘UTD’ (United Thru Dance & Drama), a new project that aims to unite the young people from the area through performing arts. Past projects have been street dance and Romani dance, which have been very successful and attracted a lot of youngsters from the Slovakian and Czech community. The boys completed a 6 week street dance project and gained ASDAN accreditations for their achievement. The Romani dance group was very popular and performed at many local festivals. It has raised a lot of awareness about Romani culture in the area. We have just started a new drama project in partnership with Point Blank Theatre Company.

‘Just 4 Girls’, as the name suggests, is a weekly girls-only session for girls aged 13-19. This project aims to tackle issues that young girls face such as confidence building, bullying, personal safety, sexual health, relationships and anything that is relevant to their personal development. In the past months we have taken the girls on numerous recreational trips and done many dance sessions including a bellydance workshop with the famous TV star Sophie Mei. We are hoping to have a six week self defence course after the Christmas holidays for which funding has been provided by Sheffield futures.

‘Kids Can Do’, an arts and crafts project for children aged 8-13. This project aims to make children more aware of cultures and heritage through art. In the past children have made papier-mâché masks and a worker from Heeley City farm came to show us how to make art using recycled materials.

‘Our Voice’, a project based on helping young people aged 13 – 19 understand local and national politics. The young people of our voice have taken part in a consultation by the Centre for the Study of Children and Youth about ‘participation’. They are currently analysing David Cameron’s Big Society. “Our Voice has had a great impact on me. It is a chance for my voice to be heard in the community. The atmosphere here is calm & enjoyable. We discuss numerous amounts of topics such as: the effect of the media on us (young people), racism, politics and how it is affecting not only us but everyone in the country. I love politics and this is a fantastic opportunity as I can take action on my thoughts. In the future we hope to visit the Houses of Parliament.” Anisah aged 16

‘Jeevan’, the long running disability project for 13-25 year olds in the BME community. The aim of this project is to include people with disabilities in educational and recreational activities and encourages the young people to try different things. In previous months the project has been involved in animations and cooking.

For more information contact Farah, Tel: 0114 2619130