Bangladeshi Women's Special Day
This month, we brought together over 30 older Bangladeshi Women struggling with their wellbeing. This specially tailored day at the Harford Multicentre provided a safe and supportive space for the women to connect, share their experiences, and learn from each other.
Most of the women are widows whose children are out at work and who aren’t confident speaking English, meaning they can feel incredibly isolated. We explored what it means to be well, the challenges and up-sides of getting older, and used small groups to make sure everybody was fully heard.
Working in small groups to make sure everybody was fully heard
Each woman created their own wellbeing tool box decorating with colours and stickers
The highlight of the event was making the wellbeing boxes. This unique activity allowed participants to express their creativity and put themselves and their wellbeing first after a lifetime of looking after other people. People decorated them with colours and stickers, planning to use them to store wedding rings, gifts from grandchildren, crystals and semi-precious stones, the names of Allah in Arabic, and photographs of their younger selves. One lady wanted to write on her box, ‘This is my box, and I made it!’ so that her children and grandchildren wouldn’t take it from her.
We want to thank our event partner, the Ocean Regeneration Truts Nurun, our outreach lead for the day, our Interpreter, Sabekul, and several volunteer facilitators who made the day run smoothly. The event not only brought joy to these older Bangladeshi women but also significantly strengthened our community bonds.
Team debrief at the end of the day
Here are some comments from the day:
“How I got people to come was by saying it’s about age, what worries we have, and let’s come and talk about it. It’ll be fun!” -Nurun (Outreach lead)
“I’ve never seen these ladies be so vocal.” - Lindsey, Ocean Regeneration Trust (partner)
“They were so pleased and so happy.” - Sabekul, interpreter
“They enjoyed the mindful moments a lot as it made them feel good. What was also good is that nobody was left out.” - Rahima, volunteer
“This kind of activity keeps our minds fresh. It gives us confidence.” - Participant
“How do you know you are well? Coming to this event! Somewhere safe where I can learn to look after my health.” - Participant
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