Dundee International Women’s Centre

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#WomenOfDundee: Flourish taught me valuable life-saving skills I was able to put into practice

1 November 2016 by diwc-admin 2 Comments

#WomenOfDundee: Flourish taught me valuable life-saving skills I was able to put into practice

Sarish Rizwan has been attending the Flourish program on and off for the past two years, she is from Pakistan and has two sons. She has given permission to speak about her personal story that has helped her save two peoples life since doing the First Aid course, which was organised by staff in the DIWC Flourish group.

Learning valuable life-saving skills to put into practice

The first time was when Sarish had gone to Pakistan to visit family there was an incident where her uncle started to have chest pains and breathing difficulty. Sarish said she immediately remembered what she had learned and how to recognise if someone was having symptoms of a heart attack. She called for an ambulance and put him in the recovery position. As her uncle’s condition worsened, she was able to carry out CPR which was vital, until the paramedics came, after which they took over. Thanks to her quick thinking and remembering the training she had received, her uncle is alive and so grateful to Sarish.

Another time was when Sarish was feeding her baby he choked on a pea and was having difficulty breathing. She performed the Heimlich manoeuvre and CPR, which saved her baby’s life.

Sarish says: “I am so grateful to DIWC and Flourish for delivering the First Aid workshop, without it, the outcome might have been very devastating. I am now able to perform emergency first aid until help arrives if needed, which makes me feel, that I have learnt a very valuable skill which could save lives. Thank you Flourish”

To find out more about the Flourish classes, click here.

 

Filed Under: #womenofdundee, Blog Tagged With: #womenofdundee, activities, diwc, dundee international women's centre, flourish, learning, Pakistan

#WomenOfDundee: Coming to the Bazorg group gives me a sense of purpose

17 October 2016 by diwc-admin 2 Comments

#WomenOfDundee: Coming to the Bazorg group gives me a sense of purpose

Aunty Krishna has been coming to the DIWC for a couple of years and the Bazorg group gives her a sense of purpose now that she has more time on her hands. Here she shares her story about how she came to live in Dundee and why she joined the group.

My husband and I moved around a lot before settling in Dundee

“I moved to Dundee around 50 years ago. I did not know how to speak English when I first came here. I only understood little bits here and there but not enough to understand a whole sentence. Now, although I can’t speak a lot of English I can understand and get by a lot more easily.

I married my husband when I was 25. When we were in India he worked on the railways. This often involved him moving to different stations wherever the work was and I moved with him. We lived in many different places. I remember even staying in the jungle for a while and taking my bedspread and sleeping by the railways whenever he had night duty. The conditions were not the best sometimes but that was our life back then.

I’ve seen dramatic changes in Dundee over the years

In my time in Dundee I have seen it change dramatically. It’s amazing to see the transformation of the city. In 1966 I remember the Queen Mother visited Dundee to open the new Road Bridge. Also, at that time Ninewells hospital was just being built and now the hospital looks very modern and different.

There was a time where shillings were used instead of the pounds and pence’s we have today. I remember when I migrated there was a corner shop near our house. My husband had told them that I did not understand how the British currency works and so I just handed the shopkeeper the money and he would give me the change.

I find I have more time now my husband passed away and my children have all grown up

My husband passed away 25 years ago. He was still quite young. He was a very kind and handsome man. Since he was the same height as me I remember him saying: “If you wear heels, you’ll be taller than me!” My children were still studying at that time and my eldest was a year away from graduating from his degree in medicine. My daughter had started working so she helped support the family.

My children have their lives here, we are well settled. I have 3 kids; 2 boys and a girl. My eldest son is a GP in Birmingham and has two daughters. My youngest son has a boy and a girl and I love them very much too. My husband did not have any siblings so we spent most of our time in India living by ourselves. Though I still go every year to visit my own brothers and sisters, my heart is here with my children.

I have been coming to the Bazorg class at DIWC for a couple of years. When I first started I didn’t know any of the ladies here but now they are my friends. The Bazorg group gives me the opportunity to socialise and gives a little change to my week. I enjoy chatting with the ladies and doing the different activities they have here. Coming here makes me feel good.”

Aunty Krishna Bazorg Group member. Translated from Punjabi.#WomenOfDundee

Filed Under: #womenofdundee, Blog Tagged With: #womenofdundee, bazorg, diwc, dundee, dundee international women's centre, punjabi

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

26 September 2016 by diwc-admin Leave a Comment

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

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

 

Filed Under: #womenofdundee, Blog Tagged With: #womenofdundee, diwc, dundee, dundee international women's centre, english, language

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

20 September 2016 by diwc-admin 1 Comment

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

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

Filed Under: #womenofdundee, Blog Tagged With: #womenofdundee, diwc, dundee international women's centre, mental health, volunteering

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

20 September 2016 by diwc-admin Leave a Comment

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

‘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 10th 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

 

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

Filed Under: Blog, News & Announcements Tagged With: diwc, dundee international women's centre, english for life, last lines

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