Hear My Voice- Real People Real Stories/ Postcards From East Ham.

My project is all about giving the residents of East Ham a voice whilst promoting well-being and a sense of empowerment and community engagement. I am applying for this funding because I recently did some projects for Newham as a Freelance artist where I interviewed local residents from the South Asian Diaspora here; some who had arrived in Newham as early as 1961, penniless and with no English language. Having had their stories featured at various events and platforms during Newham Heritage Month, these residents felt empowered, emotional and greatly valued. The women especially were happy as they’d never really had a chance to integrate with the wider community here, or never had reminisced and told their fascinating stories about their journeys and life as a resident here. I want to do more of this in East Ham. I want to extend this to our youth and young adults who are disenfranchised by the clash of culture and country. I want to open up my project and give residents some empowerment whilst using creative writing as a tool of well-being and as a tool of feeling valued.

It’s so important to have stories heard and preserved. I’ve run workshops for women where writing creatively has become a passion and a form of expression and often an escape from toxic and abusive environments. Writing empowered me. I’m a published author and an editor, as well as an educator at schools, where I use my voice to empower teachers and pupils by encouraging the telling and sharing of stories from different cultures; promoting the de-colonisation of the curriculum. This needs to extended to all the generations of families here in East Ham. My project aims to provide a platform to share stories and talk about experiences. I want to help residents find their voices.