Empowering women and youth with Tahera Khanam

11.4 Tahera Khanam episode transcript

Intro

[00:00:00] Hello and welcome to season 11 of the Meet the Mancunian podcast: social impact stories from Manchester. I'm your host, Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe, and I'm so glad you're listening to my podcast today.

[00:00:13] This season, I'm proud to collaborate once again with the Spirit of Manchester Awards to highlight some of this year's incredible nominees. These are personal stories of care, courage and commitment told in the voices of the people working quietly and passionately behind the scenes in our communities.

[00:00:35] Every Tuesday I'll bring you thoughtful conversations that explore what drives these change makers, the impact they've made and the lessons they've learned along the way. I hope you find their stories as moving and as meaningful as I did.

[00:00:49] You can listen to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or on my website www.meetthemancunian.co.uk. Let's discover the heart of Manchester. One story at a time.

Meet Tahera Khanam

[00:01:04] Passionate about women and youth in the community.

[00:01:07] In the fourth episode of Season 11, we hear from Tahera Khanam, founder, Better We and Nominee, Volunteer of the Year.

[00:01:15] In Tahera's own words.

[00:01:18] Tahera Khanam: At the moment, we have eight weekly clubs, different clubs as I said, our first two club was luncheon club and coffee morning. We have health and wellbeing session for the elderly women from above 40 and some participants, they're, 75, 80 years old as well. We run supplementary school for our youth.

[00:01:41] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Thank you so much for joining me today.

[00:01:44] Tahera Khanam: Thank you for having me today and thank you, our listener who is listening to my story.

[00:01:50] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: And what's very interesting Tahera that listeners may not know, but you've been a guest on the podcast before. And it's great to have you and to tell more of your story especially as a Spirit of Manchester nominee.

Tahera's Journey and Community Impact

[00:02:04] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: What first inspired your connection to the Manchester community? Is there a particular moment that started you on your journey

[00:02:12] Tahera Khanam: Just after the COVID when I back to work, I have seen in the community there are lot of women especially, Because I'm much more connected with the women and the young generation, in our community. And when I spoke with them, I have seen lot of loneliness, lot of sadness in their life because the period was quite long.

[00:02:39] One and a half years we had COVID, and in that time, they were isolated. They were very house bound, and they didn't get enough community people, friends to share their story. So this is how I got connected with those women in our community.

[00:02:57] And what we did, we arranged a luncheon club. It was in 2021. It was our first luncheon club, so I invited few ladies from our community. So they came, they had chit chat. They really enjoyed that luncheon club, I remember.

The Birth of Better We

[00:03:14] Tahera Khanam: And I got few requests. Can we do twice a week? So then we started one day luncheon club and one day coffee morning. And we didn't have any money, any funding for even, we didn't have any plan to work with that community as a charity organisation.

[00:03:35] We just started doing this voluntarily basis. They all brought food from home because they want people for chitchat, for sharing their story. So this is how we ran for around four, five months. And we just ran everything as a volunteer basis.

[00:03:54] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Thank you for sharing how it's came out of that isolation and loneliness that people were facing. And how you started this luncheon club or coffee club, just to get people an opportunity to share their own experiences and to support each other, and that inspired you to think about an organisation to where you could do this regularly.

[00:04:17] How did your journey with Better We begin and what does your organisation do now?

Empowering Women and Youth

[00:04:23] Tahera Khanam: At the beginning, it was just a luncheon club, coffee morning, gathering. But what I really realised, women, they need confidence, they need financially independence. This is what I have started to run few training courses.

[00:04:39] Fortunately, I will say two of our ladies from that group on 2021, they joined and nowadays they have their own limited company. They have their own business. So we definitely make these changes, made this positive bring in the women's life. They're financially independent now. We're still trying to bring some more ladies to be entrepreneur now.

[00:05:07] And as I said, I am passionate to work with empowering women, and youth. So one of our youth now is a youth leader, youth MP in Manchester City Council. Our youth club, we're empower them. We help them to be a public speaker. We give them platform like when we have any event, we give them platform to host the whole event. So we are very happy.

[00:05:35] This is how we are taking Better We from grassroot level to now. I'll say long way we went. Now, we are in a better position. And the volunteers are very confident now. If I say honestly, that time they needed me, but now they are very confident they can run on their own.

Services Offered by Better We

[00:05:56] Tahera Khanam: At the moment, we have eight weekly clubs, different clubs. Our first two club was luncheon club and coffee morning. We have health and wellbeing session for the elderly women from above 40 and some participants, they're, 75, 80 years old as well. We run supplementary school for our youth.

[00:06:19] We have our youth club, and we have our food bank. We have our men's club. For our men's, we have our IT session to empower the community. Free driving theory lesson. There are lot of ladies from our volunteer. They had passed driving theory as it's free. They came to learn and now they have their own driving license.

[00:06:45] That's eight clubs, sessions we are running. And sometimes we did some project. Last year we had project with Salford University. It was on climate change, was with 75 women from Better We. They got lot of information about how to keep our climate sustainable, how to look after our climate, like how to sort out the bin and these sort of things.

[00:07:15] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: These clubs sound so unique and so good to have so many of them running very effectively. And like you said, your volunteers are doing a great job as well.

[00:07:24] Taking a minute to talk about Spirit of Manchester Awards, what does being nominated for Spirit of Manchester Awards mean to you and to Better We.

[00:07:33] Tahera Khanam: I'm very much honoured and it's not my achievement. It is our Better We volunteer achievement. That's, I believe. Sometimes, if you work and if you don't get any reward, it not get the motivation. And that's why I think it's a big achievement for Better We to nominated as a volunteer of the year. It's very big honour for us. We are very happy to have it.

[00:08:05] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: All the very best, and I hope you also go on to win the award when the moment comes in October.

[00:08:11] Tahera Khanam: Thank you.

Challenges and Triumphs

[00:08:12] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: What are some of the toughest moments you've had in this journey of setting up Better We and taking it from strength to strength? How did you get through those tough moments?

[00:08:23] Tahera Khanam: Honestly, I will say to work with the community is such a pleasure. Also, it's very hard to work with the community because in community there are a lot of people. Everyone is different. Everyone is unique. To understand their emotion, to understand their problems, to listen their story, it's not very easy. Sometimes they'll love you. Sometimes they'll hate you. Sometimes they'll support you. Sometimes they'll push you.

[00:08:55] So you have to observe lot of things, ups and downs. And if you love your community... I always think my community, my volunteers, they are just like my baby. So as my children, they do lot of mistakes, but I love them. This is how I always feel. And I also shared with them; you all are my families. You all are my babies, and your problem is my problem.

[00:09:23] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: It's very nice when you think about them as your family but also realise that like families come in all shapes and sizes. People can be very, like you said, vocal sometimes, maybe pushing you, sometimes maybe supporting you sometimes, and being patient and understanding and showing that constant availability that you are always there for them. That's really important and thank you for sharing that with listeners.

[00:09:52] Can you share a little bit about the impact of your work?

[00:09:56] Tahera Khanam: Longsight, it is where we work. Our community, It's a deprived community mostly. And there are lot of immigrants, a lot of asylum seeker, they come for food from Better We food club. And few people, few families I have seen, they couldn’t afford food and they regularly come.

[00:10:18] So we try to support them. Nowadays we can see, they're financially a little bit stable because they're getting help, they're getting clothes. So we try to help in different way. So those type of families. Also, some few women I can see, they were housebound.

[00:10:37] Now they come, for our health and wellbeing session, for fitness club. So they are active now. They are no more how housebound. Some lady around 40, 45 years old, they are doing the voluntary work now. Happily, they are doing it. They're confident, they're speaking with other ladies. The best thing is if you see their smile, that changes we can see we brought.

[00:11:01] And in the youth, I'll say, on Saturday, we have our supplementary school, two hours from 11 till one and from one till three is our youth club. Few children, they come for supplementary school and then they stay for the youth club.

[00:11:19] And can you imagine four hours? They're just away from their devices, they're chit-chatting with friends, networking, little children. They're learning so many things. We have heritage games, we do with the children. We practice the public speaking. We ask them to make a funding application. So we try to empower. We try to make a leader.

[00:11:46] So that's impact I can see. And as I mentioned, one of our youth leader, she's now Youth MP in Manchester City Council, youth parliament. So these changes we can really see.

[00:12:01] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Thank you for sharing those stories. And they're also impactful both from people feeling more settled. The women getting that confidence and in fact even becoming volunteers. That's amazing because that shows that they are really wanting to value add to the community. And then, like you said, the youth spending four hours both away from their devices but also learning essential skills and leadership skills.

[00:12:27] Are there any common myths about your work anything that you think people are believing that maybe you want to clarify.

Community Support and Volunteerism

[00:12:33] Tahera Khanam: No, I don't have anything in mind. I think community work is blessing. If you have get this opportunity, it's blessing. If you work with the community, you can make a good family I'll tell you. Extended big family. Whenever you need what I have seen, we do lot of big events. We don't have funding that much. That's the problem for the charity organisation. But if you make a strong volunteer-based community organisation, you don't need that much funding.

[00:13:08] We do big event. What we do, we happily we can bring food from home and share each other. And we celebrated big event. This is one big I would say big, good thing to make a work.

[00:13:23] Also, if no one is in this country, especially, lot of people who are our we have family back home here. No one is there, but I never felt like that. Whenever I need any support, any mental support, any kind of support. I have found, lot of people surround me because I work with the community. So my community is my family. So it is a good, strong point to benefit to work with the community.

[00:13:53] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: It's really lovely to see that the community is able to support each other, putting events on and also giving each other support and even giving you support. Because like you said, many of us, including myself, family, is really back home or back in our home countries. How is it that you are finding a little bit of a network here.

[00:14:13] What's your go-to piece of advice that you want to share with listeners who are keen to support their community? How should they get started in any part of the world?

[00:14:23] Tahera Khanam: To start community work, we don't have to go anywhere. We have our neighbour; we have our neighbourhood. If anyone wants to start the community work, we can start from our next door. Maybe we can give them smile, ask them if they need any help. Maybe in the summertime, we can share food. We can make some neighbourhood party. This is how we can start.

[00:14:49] And if know your neighbourhood, then you'll see how much support they need. And you see how much they can have when they support, they can help their, the community, the neighbourhood, this way.

[00:15:06] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Such a lovely tip. And just reaching out to your neighbour or your neighbourhood and first offering a friendly smile, but also then asking what support can we offer you? Or bringing people together over food. That does sound like a really simple way to get started. And if everybody helps their neighbourhood, the power will be so much.

[00:15:29] Tahera Khanam: Yes. We did with my children. We have lot of elderly neighbours in our neighbourhood. One day we knock them, we ask them, do you with our children, do you need to clean your garden? Maybe grass cutting. This is how we made relationship with our neighbour. And I'm sure that will make your day.

[00:15:53] If they say yes, you can help me. And you'll see later on the smile on their face, and next day you'll find that they'll come to you door with a pack of chocolate or say hello when you'll be on the road. So this is how we meet the relationship with our neighbour. And we regularly, every year we do the neighbourhood party. I created a group in WhatsApp.

[00:16:21] And someone needs to take the initiative. Everyone love to get together, to speak with each other because we're very lonely in this country. That's definitely, make happy to everybody, I feel. So someone needs to be take the initiative.

[00:16:38] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: I like that. Somebody needs to take the initiative. I've found that too sometimes in the groups I'm part of ; somebody needs to get you started and sometimes you can be that person, sometimes it's somebody else and then you say, yes, that's a great idea. How can we do this together?

[00:16:54] Tahera Khanam: One thing I also forget to share, what I have found in my community when I started to work with them, with the ladies especially, they all are superhero. They just need support from the back. You have to tell them, don't worry, just fly. I am behind you. You'll see how far they can fly. This is, I felt, oh my God, everyone has their own ability. They can do a lot. Just, you have to give them some confidence, some support that I have found in my community, honestly, to our ladies.

[00:17:32] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: I like that very much about people being superheroes and having that ability to do a lot. If you can give them that support, that confidence, and maybe that direction. A really nice tip.

[00:17:44] Is there anything I haven't asked you about that you want to share with listeners?

[00:17:48] Tahera Khanam: We offer work experience. There are lot of schools from Manchester. Students, come for work experience. Even the adults, if they need any kind of work experience, they're happily join to Better We. We are happy to support them. And yes, we have a lot of events.

Signature questions

[00:18:08] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: I'm now going to move us to the signature questions that I ask all my guests, and this is different in every season.

[00:18:15] If Manchester's community spirit could be bottled, what would you say is a secret ingredient?

[00:18:23] Tahera Khanam: I will say the secret ingredients is the love, happiness I got from the community, the support I got from the community. This is the secret ingredients to me. My community means a lot to me.

[00:18:40] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: It shows through everything you're speaking. Definitely, I agree. Like you said, love and happiness. It's a good secret ingredient.

[00:18:49] If you could build a Manchester Community Hall of Fame, who would you put in that Hall of Fame and what would their plaque or their signs say?

[00:18:59] Tahera Khanam: Our volunteers, definitely the Better We volunteers will be the Hall of Fame,

[00:19:04] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: and what would their sign say?

[00:19:07] Tahera Khanam: Superhero or Wonder Woman.

[00:19:11] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Superhero and Wonder Woman. I like that.

[00:19:14] What's the Made in Manchester moment you won't forget?

[00:19:18] Tahera Khanam: Manchester moment. I will say the Be Proud Award on 2023 when we achieved it. Why I say the award is very important. I have the experience when we got the Be Proud on 2023, if I say our level was on 10.

[00:19:40] After receiving those award, we felt that no, we're very strong. We received this award so we cannot just walk, we can run. And I remember after that our confident were on very high level and we produce lot of work. All the volunteers are very confident after. I would say after that, we just fly.

[00:20:08] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Thank you and I think you're right because like you said, it's very motivating when you get a recognition for yourself and all the great people associated with Better We.

[00:20:19] When you look back, what is the most valuable lesson either your work or your life has taught you as an individual?

[00:20:26] Tahera Khanam: I shared with lot of people this lesson. On 2021, I suddenly diagnosed cancer. And that time plan to start the Better We. We had at the beginning lot of works. I was so busy with work, work with our ladies who I was busy to hear their story. Because COVID-19, they had lot of things to share, so I was busy with them. And my, cancer diagnosis, those things couldn't affect me.

[00:20:58] I never ever felt sick. I was so strong. I remember after my having my radiotherapy, I just. came from radiotherapy centre to Better We. I spent time with the ladies, they made a tea, coffee for me. I was so blessed.

[00:21:17] And my lesson is if you have any problem in life, go to solve another people's problem. Your problem will automatically solve then. So this is my lesson. If you have any problem, don't think too much, that will kill you. Rather than sitting thinking, why I am having this, why I have this problem. Just go out. Go out from home, go to speak with other people, help them, share them. Your problem will be automatically solved. This is my lesson.

[00:21:54] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: That's such a beautiful thought and I'm so glad you were able to come through such a experience. But it's just wonderful that what you're saying is let's not worry about something that we are facing. Let's use that energy to support somebody else, and that by doing that, you are actually getting over the difficult phase in your own life because you've been able to support somebody else. And that is a very beautiful thought and definitely worth thinking about for those who can do something different.

[00:22:27] Obviously, it depends on your circumstance because some people's circumstance may not allow it, but a very nice thought.

[00:22:33] And I think you also use that life lesson to support Maggie Centre as the South Asian brand ambassador. Do you want to talk about that?

[00:22:42] Tahera Khanam: Because I had cancer, so I work with Maggie’s. I'm the South Asian Cancer Research Ambassador. Even I attended lots of cancer awareness program. I shared my own story because in our culture, in our religion, a lot of people that think that this is a kind of shame they're not allowed to share with anyone. But it's not so, that's why I shared my story and how a woman has to be brave when they have these kinds of things.

[00:23:18] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Thank you. And it's amazing that you also do this very inspiring volunteer work as the Health Ambassador.

[00:23:25] Can you tell us what's the best way for people to connect with you or learn more about your work? Where can they find your website? Where can they find your social media?

[00:23:35] Tahera Khanam: We have our Better We website and our contact details, our social media details, even what type of works we do, how they can access to our sessions, everything is there. And the people's feedback, our previous events, photo gallery, everything in our website. So our website is BetterWe.co.uk They can reach through them.

[00:24:01] We have our Better We Facebook page, our Instagram. All details are in our website, social media details as well.

[00:24:10] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Thank you so much, Tahera. This has been a really nice conversation. Thank you for taking the time today.

[00:24:16] Tahera Khanam: Thank you Deepa for having me. It's really a honour to be here today. Thank you.

Outro

[00:24:23] Thank you for listening to the Meet the Mancunian podcast. I hope today's episode gave you a deeper appreciation of the powerful work happening right here in Manchester. It's been a real honour for me to feature the Spirit of Manchester Award nominees and share their stories with you. If something you heard resonated with you, please share the episode or leave a review. It really helps other listeners find the podcast.

[00:24:51] I'd love to hear from you. Visit www.meetthemancunian.co.uk or connect with me on social media @MeettheMancunian on Instagram, Facebook and Blue Sky, and @MeettheMancunianPodcast on YouTube.

[00:25:07] Until next time, keep championing kindness, connection, and community. Together we can make our world just a little bit brighter.

[00:25:16] Thank you.

(Host note: Tahera also featured on the podcast in Season 7. Listen to the episode here.)