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#WomenOfDundee: How Mariam found a city that enabled her to achieve her dreams

26 September 2016 by diwc-admin Leave a Comment

Mariam share’s her inspiring story, how she was able to achieve her dreams by taking English classes at DIWC, which then led to her enrolling at Dundee College and to take on a Receptionist role at the Centre. Which just goes to show that no matter what, you should always try to push yourself and make the most out of the opportunities in front of you – and she did just that!

I married young and settled in Dundee after a time

I was born and brought up in Mali. My whole family is still living there. Back in 2006 at the age of 18, I married a young man, Mahamadou who is now my husband. We moved to Paris after our marriage. I spent 2 months in Paris before moving to Dundee.

Feeling isolated due to the language barrier led me to DIWC

At first, Dundee felt very foreign to me. I felt lonely and isolated when I first arrived with no one to talk to and nowhere to go. Going from living with all my family members to arriving at a city I had never even heard of was a very strange feeling. Watching the TV does not help as all the channels are in English and I did not understand the language at that time.

My husband’s friend informed us about Dundee International Women’s Centre. From there I started the beginner’s English class. I was not going to let my language barrier stop me from living a good life. I decided that I needed to go out of the house and do something for myself. Once I gained my self-confidence and my English began to improve I attended other classes and events in the centre. I then gathered the courage to take my English skills to the next level by attending Dundee College.

Living in this city enabled me to achieve my dreams in a way I never thought possible

I never expected that Dundee would be the city that enabled me to achieve my dreams. I pushed myself harder and enrolled in a computing class which taught me admin and customer service skills. I got the opportunity to apply these skills in a real-life working environment. I did my placement as a receptionist at DIWC. While doing all this I was pregnant with my third child. It was a hard journey to take care of 2 toddlers, being pregnant and also trying to go after my ambitions. Sometimes I feel like I am trying to do too much at one time. But I felt so empowered to not give up. After I completed my placement I continued to volunteer for 3 months at DIWC until I applied for the receptionist post in 2016.

I have achieved so much already, but want to do more

I never dreamt in my life that I will be able to not only speak English fluently but to be able to secure a job. My biggest achievement was when I completed my ECDL course. Now I feel that anything in this world is possible as long as I put my mind into it.

Being a full-time mum with 3 young children and working as a receptionist at the same time; I don’t think my 18-year-old self would have believed that I could be the woman I am today.

All this was possible because of the encouragement and support I got from the DIWC. Even on a bad day, I come into the centre and instantly feel better about myself. The crèche facility is a huge driver in enabling me to further my education. Knowing that my children are always nearby puts my mind at ease.

In 5 years’ time, I would like to see myself established in a role where I am even busier than I am now – if that’s even possible! I have been in Dundee for 9 years and I am loving my life here. Sometimes when I go back to Mali I need to readjust myself to fit right back in. Dundee has changed me in ways I thought was never possible. I am now fluent in English, French and Bambara. Even if I move to another city in the future I am confident that I can make the most of it.

Mariam Niakate #WomenOfDundee

#WomenOfDundee: How volunteering at DIWC gave Susan a chance to regain her confidence

20 September 2016 by diwc-admin 1 Comment

Having fallen ill and unable to work, Susan began volunteering at DIWC which gave her a chance to regain her confidence and feel useful again. Read her story here:

Wanting to make a difference

I always knew growing up that I didn’t want to work in the corporate world. My father worked in crop research for the British government and in Nigeria and Jamaica. My brother and sister have also always worked in the public sector, so I guess a sense of wanting to do something which would make a difference to the community was instilled in me from a very young age. I also had a strong belief in the impact of women’s education and empowerment on society as a whole. I moved to Dundee in 1986 to study and after completing my degree I worked in higher education and charity retailing.

Illness forced me to look again at my options

Unfortunately I became ill with depression and anxiety in 2005 and couldn’t work for about 18 months. I was encouraged to do volunteering to get some structure back into my life and I was due to go to Cats Protection where I could hide away from people and just play with the cats, but my own cat died the day before I was supposed to start and I ended up at Dundee International Women’s Centre instead! Volunteering as a receptionist gave me the opportunity to regain confidence and feel that I was useful again. DIWC and the Community Mental Health Team were so helpful that I was able to get supported work at the Centre. When the post of Receptionist became vacant, I applied for it and that was the start of my long and varied career at DIWC.

Gaining confidence through volunteering and giving something back

Working at Dundee International Women’s Centre is so uplifting. During my time here I have worked in administration, training and supporting learners and now I evaluate the work that we do and the impact it has on the lives of women (and try to make sure that we have enough money to pay for it!). The people here are my friends and family. As a naturally inquisitive person, I love hearing about all different cultures, inspiring stories and the women’s journeys. I am always reminded of how lucky I have been to have the opportunities and freedom given to me.

I will always be grateful to DIWC, and hope to work here as long as I can make a valuable contribution. By the way – I share my house with another cat now, Merlin!

Susan A’ Brook #womenofdundee

Last Lines: A collaborative poem written by the English For Life class

20 September 2016 by diwc-admin Leave a Comment

‘Last Lines’ is the title of a collaborative poem written by the English For Life class under the guidance of Lindsay MacGregor, in partnership with the Creative Writing Department of the University of Dundee.

A compilation of the poem is published by Dundee University’s Creative Writing Department to celebrate their 10^th year anniversary.

The theme of the anthology ‘The Voyage Out’ was chosen as Dundee was and still is associated with international travelling. DIWC was asked to contribute as our learners have made long journeys to be in Dundee – journeys home, learning a foreign language and into new areas of hope and fear.

there is no word for first light
it’s more like find yourself

study – play – talk to the other
come back in the same way
arrive at the night in an army town

did I know I’d leave before you knew?

my heart is still on my country road
small fish and smoke
bokharat kapsa cardamom jackfruit
honey cake apple cake
father’s farm of rice and sweet potatoes

what is in your suitcase? it seems so heavy
your name ? your family? your country?
someone’s always choosing for us

leaving the shade of Lakshmi’s green dome, walking
across a field of white birds and blueberries
we forget the hard thing happened
find our balance

*Contributors: Amandine, Amandeep, Balgeis, Lindsay, Madhuri, Magda, Maria, Mashael, Mei and Rekha

Hamish, Peacocks & Scone Palace – a day out with DIWC

20 July 2016 by diwc-admin Leave a Comment

July 2016 saw the DIWC members going for a day trip to Scone Palace. Read on to see what a wonderful day out they all had and take a look at some of the pictures taken on the day.

Welcomed by Hamish the cow and a Peacock!

We gathered at the centre at 9 am and made our way to the Palace. Upon arriving at the Palace we were welcomed by a beautiful peacock and Hamish the cow. This got the children excited from the beginning of the trip.

We walked to the Palace and were given a tour around the grounds. Scone Palace has an exciting history as one of Scotland’s most important stately homes. This was also the world’s famous crowning place of the King of Scots.The Palace has an outstanding collection of antiques, paintings and artefacts from around the world.

We then made our way to the garden for an afternoon picnic lunch. The sun was out, the peacocks flared their feathers, and the children enjoyed themselves.We all brought our packed lunches and spent the afternoon chatting away under the bright Scottish sun.

The afternoon continued with a walk around the garden and exploring the maze. The maze was an exciting place to be as everyone was competing to be the first to find their way out. Some of us watched from the bridge of the maze and gave directions to those who can’t find their way out. We strongly believe in the saying “leave no man behind”. 🙂

The children continued playing in the park while some of us went for a long walk into the woods. The walk was guided by Priya who is a yoga instructor. She taught us breathing and meditation techniques and educated us on the importance of being close to nature.

We all had a wonderful time together. Many of us made new friends while some others got the opportunity to enjoy the summer fun with a group of lovely ladies. The children also enjoyed the day out in the Palace.

Have a peek at the video below and watch how we spent the day at Scone Palace:

Scone Palace2 from DIWC on Vimeo.

Celebrating Eid with a party at the DIWC

13 July 2016 by diwc-admin Leave a Comment

Eid festival is celebrated by Muslims around the world to mark the end of the month-long fast of Ramadan.

This year an Eid party was celebrated in the Boomerang Community Centre. The evening was celebrated with music, dance, and authentic middle eastern food, with our very own in-house DJ Dana entertaining the crowd with her mixing skills.

Watch the video below to see how we celebrated Eid.

Eid Party 2016 from Parv K. Jessy on Vimeo.