Meet the Mancunian-7.9-Tahera Khannam transcript

Intro

Hello and a warm Mancunian welcome to you today. I'm Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe, your host, and it's an honour to share Season 7 of the Meet the Mancunian podcast: social impact stories from Manchester with you. This season is all about celebrating the stories of our local changemakers and the profound social impact they are creating.

Every Tuesday, I shine a spotlight on the incredible individuals weaving the fabric of our community. From grassroots heroes to local legends, their stories are the soul of Manchester.

Whether you're tuning in on Apple, Spotify, Google or www.meetthemancunian.co.uk, get ready for a season that showcases the incredible social impact within our community.

Welcome to the 9th episode of Season 7 of the Meet the Mancunian podcast, Social Impact Stories from Manchester.

Passionate about supporting the community? We hear from Tahera Khannam, founder, Better We, in this episode.

[00:01:07] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: I'm delighted to introduce my guest,

Tahera Khannam, founder, Better We.

[00:01:12] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Thank you, Tahera, for joining me today.

[00:01:15] Tahera Khannam: Deepa, it's a really pleasure to be here today.

[00:01:18] Tahera Khannam: Thank you.

[00:01:19] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Thank you.

Passion for supporting mental health

[00:01:20] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: First, tell us about how you found your passion for supporting mental health in the community. I know it's a cause you're very passionate about.

[00:01:27] Tahera Khannam: From the beginning, I always love to work with the community people. I love to have them, support them. And when I have noticed, after the COVID 19 pandemic period, a lot of people, they are suffering from lots of health issues. My passion is get forward. So I wanted to help them from that point.

I have started to work with the community before that. I always, when I have the chance, if any neighbourhood party or if I have heard anyone, my neighbour next door or anyone, having need any help, I always try to help them. So this is my passions from the childhood, I would say, to work with my community. I always love to be with the community. So this is how my patients stand here.

[00:02:17] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Thank you so much for sharing that, Tahera. That's really interesting about how you've had that passion since childhood, and you always love to be with the community and to support them and the pandemic also inspired you.

Expanding Services: From Coffee Mornings to Youth Clubs

[00:02:29] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: So tell us about Better We that you founded. How did that get started and what is it that you do with Better We Now?

[00:02:37] Tahera Khannam: After that pandemic, we have noticed lots of community people, they are socially excluded, from a lot of things, and some of them are suffering depressions and a lot of domestic violence. The idea came into my mind to start a coffee morning. With a few of the other community people, we made a good team. We have started the coffee morning and later on we found, day by day the attendance participants is increasing and the attendants they are sharing their stories to each other. They are having really fun, and they love to be together.

We have started more other clubs like our Luncheon Club. Health and being sessions twice a week, the health and being session, like one session is Zumba and one session is yoga for the community and food bank we have started, because of the cost of living crisis .

And we with the council, we asked that our community, they need help for food as well. So this is how we have started. And what we have found that they need our better way. It is located in the heart of Longsight., where the community people, they are mostly the deprived community, we can say.

They need a lot of help, like if you think about education wise, they need to access to the computer. Most of the women, our service users, before they couldn't know, they didn't know how to use computer and they need help to access. We try to develop their skills as well. So this is how we developed Better We and day by day we are increasing our activities.

And also we have found that our young generations in Longsight area, they also need help. So we have now two youth clubs for youth. One is girls only and one is boys only. So we work with the young children as well. We run a lot of other activities as well.

[00:04:49] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Thank you for sharing that, Tahera. That's really interesting that you're supporting the community in so many different ways. From computer skills to food banks to fitness to medical help. So that's really great.

Overcoming Challenges and Building a Supportive Environment

[00:05:03] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Can you tell us about any challenges that you've had on this journey of supporting the community that you've had to overcome so that any lessons you have learned from that can be shared with the rest of the listeners?

[00:05:16] Tahera Khannam: From the beginning till now, there are lots of barriers. I will say lots of complications started, but as we have tried to overcome this. We have seen lots of people in our community, they have suffering from diabetes and some other health issues. So, we thought it's better to start swimming session, but most of them are find difficulties to use the transport or go somewhere else. So what we planned, we appointed a few volunteers who will pick them from their home and they will take to the swimming pool.

This is one issues before we had is, a lot of times like better we welcome everyone. There are no barriers to anyone, like no religion. Everyone is most welcome at Better We. No religion, no gender, no discrimination. Everyone is welcome to develop this type of environment.

You have to suffer, there are a lot of conflict between the people, sometimes and sometimes with the volunteers. Yes, if we are, passionate to any works and if we work as a team, it is possible to overcome those barriers, those challenges, I will say.

[00:06:28] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Tahera, that's very interesting and thank you for sharing all of that.

Recognising the Impact: Awards and Community Feedback

[00:06:32] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: So what's the impact that you made so far through Better We? I know you also got recently a Manchester award.

[00:06:40] Tahera Khannam: It's really nice when we get lots of, positive feedback from our service users. And we have a, log feedback box at our centre. And there is one volunteer who always, after four sessions of every activity, they get feedback from the users. So this is how we always improve our services.

We love, we welcome the feedback , from our service users, from our volunteers, from all of them. They have made a lot of positive feedback. If I say when we have started our health club, like the yoga club, there are only maybe seven people, eight people, but now we can't provide them enough space because we have limitations. We have maximum 15 people we can accommodate. So what we are doing now, we split the clubs in two days rather than doing one day, so the more people can attend.

And our luncheon club, oh my god, it is full, usually we try to arrange food for 20 people. Sometimes we have seen it's around 30 people, it's amazing. The number of participants, we can say from the number of participants, our services, they are loving our services, they are enjoying.

And if we say about our youth club, we had capacity of 20 people because from council, we are getting funds for 20 people, but now our youth club participants, especially the girls one, now is 35 youth is registered, and on average, on every session, it's around 28 people. They have enjoying the clubs.

Even If the holiday time, if we decide not to run the club, because at the holiday time we run holiday clubs with young children, from age five till age 17, with the help of Department of Education Manchester Active. But our youth, they don't want to stop. Want, all over the year they want their clubs running. The participants attendance that gives us t that we're running some positive feedback impact on the society.

We started Better We on 2021 August. Somebody, we are very well connected with the council. We work together and all of a sudden we have got the nomination. Because we are very new on that time, just one year after our service.

Fortunately, we have received the Be Proud Award for increasing employability and skills in our community, which is a very proud moment for Better We. It means that we are trying to make and improve the better version of ourselves, better portion of our community and our council, they recognized our works and we achieved the Be Proud Award for these works.

And yes, and on that occasion, I remember one of our deputy leaders of Manchester, he mentioned that people work decades sometimes to achieve this award and it is unbelievable Better We achieve this award within just after one year.

I will say, I'm very grateful to the community to the organization and individual who support and always help better to improve and growing, and definitely all of our amazing volunteers and staffs, their effort is incredible.

[00:10:19] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Thank you for sharing that. And that is an amazing impact that you've been able to make in a short period of now two years. And of course, it's great you got the award, but all the things that you're telling me as well, how more people are coming to your classes, to your youth clubs, to all the programs you're organising and the meals. That is really nice.

How to Get Involved with Better We

[00:10:40] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: So how can interested people reach out to you and learn more? Where can they find your website? Where can they find your centre? And where can they find you on social media?

[00:10:50] Tahera Khannam: We are available on social media. We have website www.betterwe.co.Uk. Our contact details are in our website, also in the social media, Facebook pages.

We welcome everyone to our centre. We have great opportunity for the young people, those who needed, the work experience or people, those who want to this kind of service, they can also volunteer to our organisation.

[00:11:17] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Thank you for sharing that. I always include the website in the show notes so people can find it very easily.

Advice for Aspiring Community Workers

[00:11:24] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: What advice would you have for people looking to start a similar movement in another part of the UK or another part of the world? We now have listeners from 50 countries, and they may be inspired by your work to get started to serve the

[00:11:38] Tahera Khannam: First of all, I will say the patience they have, if you want to start anything, you have to be patient, and then you have to consistency, you have to make the consistency, and anyone can start from anywhere in the world if they want.

but I will say to work for the community because we are doing the community work. is very important to work as a team. Because if we work as a team, it makes quality of the work will be better. And you're working in a team so you're not taking all the problems. You don't have to solve everything by your own.

You can do as a individual, very little, but if you work as a team. More important, more good outcome will come, and consistency is very important, and your time things really matter I will say, and definitely they have to be always crystal clear for community work, it's very important you have to have good contact, connection with your team and also about the community.

You can't take decision on your own. You have to share and, discuss before you take. Those things really matter when you work with the community. When you work with the community, you sometimes have to be like them. Maybe your status, your class, or your pattern of work is different, but when you work with the community, you have to be like them. This is how you can improve your community, quality. Win their trust, their heart, so that's what I follow.

[00:13:24] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: That's really great advice. Particularly like the one about the winning their hearts and minds by adapting your style and your way of working to suit the community.

[00:13:37] Tahera Khannam: I want to share one more thing, I was diagnosed with breast cancer just two years ago, but my Better We, and my community, they never ever, let me to feel that I'm diagnosed something I am going through any difficult times. Never, ever.

When I'm at Better We I always life and I feel like, wow, I don't want to, leave come home because those. people, they are genuinely love you because they realise they think you are doing something for them. So this is unconditional love to, and from my experience, I will say, if you keep yourself busy, no depression, no difficulties will come to your life. You will just enjoy your life. So this is my experience. So when I am better, I learn from my community work.

[00:14:33] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: And it's a very positive attitude to a very serious health condition. And I'm so glad you're keeping that positivity, that optimism and, that community spirit while you work through that.

An opportunity now for you to talk about anything that I haven't asked you about anything coming up in the next three to six months.

[00:14:54] Tahera Khannam: Yes, there is very good news. So we love to work with women to empower them. So been now four months. So we have founded another group, another organisation is called Wowmen, and now there are more than hundred women are registered in that group. Basically, to empower each other to share each other's stories.

And we have a storytelling session through this session. We're now connect to one member to another member. So this is very good session. Yes, we have a woman now launch. It is launched and we had voting election. We did the voting. It's not I want to. A lot of people, they want to work to be in the management team, but what we did we did fair election and choose who can be our director, can be our woman secretary yes now women is started working now for different next week we are starting our catering, woman catering, and we have planned. On November, we'll start our Wowman and tailoring, like few. People in our woman is lot of things.

[00:16:08] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Sounds very interesting and I'd love to hear more about Wowman at some other point of time. This is really interesting and tailoring, my ears are pricking up, I might be interested in that. I haven't found a good woman's tailor yet, so that's very interesting.

Signature Questions

I now come to the signature questions I ask all my guests and the first one for you is to describe the Mancunian spirit in a word or a phrase.

[00:16:32] Tahera Khannam: I'll say power to live. Power. If you want me to explain I moved from Germany to Manchester. It's been now 15 years. You know what I have found, I left my back home 15 years ago not 15, 22 years ago, Bangladesh, and feel in Manchester it's my home, I brought up in Bangladesh, but I feel like Manchester, I brought up here and the respect and friendship I am getting from the residents.

It's amazing, unbelievable. miss my, home because went last month to visit my family in Bangladesh. But, I thought when I will go back to Manchester, the words, the love, the respect I'm getting from Mancunian people, it's wonderful. That's why I say It's power to live.

[00:17:26] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: That's a very nice way to tell a story and also to explain that phrase. It's very interesting and it's a very warm city, of course.

Can you share a Mancunian who inspires you and tell us why?

[00:17:38] Tahera Khannam: Yes, Jesmin is one of them. You already know her. There are few other, my children's. always, support me. Those are the Mancunian residents, and they support me always for, from the beginning, I diagnosed cancer, and when I have developed better, they are always with me, my children, my husband, and if I say a few others out of my family, a few of my family friends, Like Sabrina Zerin Hossain, she is one of the business women. She is also working with the community, so Sabrina is one of them.

[00:18:19] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Thank you and shout out to all of them.

What's the most important life lesson you've learned so far?

[00:18:25] Tahera Khannam: If you keep yourself busy, anything you can do, like your you can do. You can do some courses to develop, update yourself. You can do some voluntary work. So the main thing, if you keep yourself busy, you will never fall in any depression.

Because you don't have the time to think, oh, my head is, I have headache or I have pain. I will ask everyone please keep yourself busy. It will help you to live a better life.

[00:18:57] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Thank you. That's a nice life lesson and a very good philosophy of a way to be productive.

If you could have one superpower, what would it be?

[00:19:06] Tahera Khannam: I will try to scale my in my woman group, and I want to take them to, maybe Switzerland, maybe, different organisation in different country. This is my dream. I already told them if I get a chance, I will do it. I will take you to the maybe UN or somewhere to meet maybe our parliament, UK parliament. I can take them to show the cabinet to meet the MPs. So this is what I want to do. I want to do something for our ladies, something for our community, if I get the superpower.

[00:19:44] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Thank you, and I hope you do get that superpower and can actually take the women to the UN and to the cabinet as well as the parliament.

Is there a funny story or a heart-warming story you'd like to share with listeners to end the podcast? This will be either about your work or about Manchester.

[00:20:06] Tahera Khannam: It's one of our service user she was diagnosed also with breast cancer for, yes, when we have the pandemic started and she had depression she always want someone to be with her. She lives near our Better We, so one of our volunteers always try to stay with her to give her company. And we tried to bring her, we provide transport for her to bring her here.

And amazingly, and it's been now two years, she never ever missed any of our luncheon club our morning and last week I had meeting with her. She wanted to meet with me, so I went to meet her and she expressed that she loved the Better We so much and she now wants to work here.

She asked me to be, if I have any chance to give her any work there. It's amazing to see her, how confident she is. Before that, two years ago, she couldn't, live out of her home and she wanted someone to be with her always, and now she wants to work somewhere with a lot of people. So this is a very special to me, honestly.

[00:21:22] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Thank you so much for sharing that. That's an amazing story of how you've been able to influence people and help them change their lives. And now she wants to continue to serve the community. Very nice.

And great to hear all the Amazing work you're doing and you continue to do. Good luck and I think you're going to London for an event as well soon. Want to wish you very well.

[00:21:45] Tahera Khannam: Thank you. It's really nice.

Outro

Tahera I really enjoyed learning about supporting the community today.

 Next week on Tuesday, 19th March 2024, I speak to Zac Blinston about supporting mental health through theatre.

Dear listener, I hope you were inspired by today's episode and it sparks your passion to make change happen wherever you live and work.

I would also like to extend a heartfelt thank you to our community for your support and feedback. Your stories inspire this podcast. Share your thoughts at www.meetthemancunian.co.uk because this podcast is your platform too.

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This is more than a podcast, it's a community. Spread the love, share comment, and let's keep building Manchester up. To the podcast's amazing listeners and supporters, you are the true heroes.

Keep thriving, keep connecting and remember the power of change lies within us.