It’s rare to hear of one good-news story in a day, in Birmingham, on 8th May 2018, there were 22 stories of positive change in the room.
Strengthening Faith Institutions (SFI) honoured local heroes from across the faiths communities. Heroes like Naima Hassan and Mosheer Noor, who run English courses for Birmingham refugee women and organise an after-school homework club for community children, and Helen Cater who supports the homeless shelter at Jamatia Islamic Centre.
Volunteers who run the food banks in Birmingham local mosques, and the girls-after-school business training clubs in the community centres. These are the people who are changing lives and transforming the Birmingham community for the good.
These heroes, their family, friends, and faith centres gathered at a local restaurant in the heart of the community, for an evening to celebrate these unsung heroes for their outstanding achievements within the local faith community and beyond.
The nominees were individuals from across Mosques in Birmingham, from undertaking social action projects with the homeless to youth girls clubs, this mirrors the essence and the extent to which people positively interact and connect with others from different backgrounds. Which is the main objective of the Strengthening Faith Institutions (SFI) programme. The volunteers shared many key attributes such as personal commitment, reliable, committed to integration and diversity.
Rabbi Natan Levy, Head of Operations of SFI said:
“SFI is a programme which aims to improve the framework of faith institutions, but it is more than that. Today we celebrate volunteers who work tirelessly within their own community to effectively deliver social action projects to raising awareness of important and pressing issues such as safeguarding.”
We look forward to continuing our work with local unsung heroes across the UK.