Be Fikr: A muslim project in Balsall Heath
"He created everything, and then He ordained it very exactly." Qu'ran 25:2
"There is no changing Allah's creation. That is the tue religion; but most people do not know." Qu'ran 30:29
Mrs Ahmed stands proudly in her disabled husband’s new ground floor bedroom and bathroom and explains, "I painted both rooms here myself, and my fellow students built the garden wall and helped with the plumbing." Whilst basic DIY skills may not be the most obvious route into sustainable development, that’s exactly what the Be Fikr ('Warm and Cosy') project, based at the Al-Hira Community College in Balsall Heath, Birmingham, is delivering.
In an area of intense deprivation, where several generations live together in privately-owned housing, poor quality living conditions have a major impact on health and well-being. Funded by New Opportunities Fund SEED programme money from 2002-4, the Be Fikr project provided training in security measures and energy efficiency, designed to save energy, reduce bills, and prevent cold and damp-related health problems.
Course leader Shabbir Ahmed soon realised the need for NVQ training in basic repairs and maintenance, plumbing, electrics, plastering, and decorating. "I found it very challenging at first to see the level of poverty and the lack of basic education some of our students suffer," he admits. "Teaching people who cannot read or write in any language was a new experience for me, and it was very difficult saying no to people who really needed someone to come and do urgent repair work for them. But the results have been wonderful, and some of our students have even established their own plumbing and building businesses."
Training for women, including those following the tradition of purdah, was a priority, and although it was initially difficult to findwomen tutors, a former student was subsequently employed to teach her new skills.
Created in the mid 1980s from a derelict piano factory, the Al-Hira Community College is run by the Hazrat Sultan Bahu Trust, whose aim is 'to fulfil the religious, educational, social and spiritual needs of the Muslim community.' Trust President Rafaqat Hussain explains that this faith-based approach implicitly includes care for the environment. "Much of our work is to do with sustainable development, but in the past we haven’t packaged it under 'environmental issues', it is simply part of our identity and our ethos of serving the community and maintaining the Qu'ranic teaching of 'balance'.”
As a lead member of the Balsall Heath Forum, the Trust has an on-going commitment to improving the local environment, organising children’s litter picks, promoting gardening, and reporting graffiti and rubbish problems to the local council. Hussain stresses that the Trust is well-placed to take a lead on such issues. "Because we are already at the heart of the community, we can get the messages out very effectively, and through education, our students become more empowered to act."
Although SEED funding has now finished, the Trust hopes to continue the Be Fikr work on a part time basis. Students are now learning their skills on the job, refurbishing an old garment factory as a satellite college building in the Lozells area, scene of the riots in 1985. The site will offer many courses including ICT, English and Urdu, fashion, healthcare and basic skills. Hussain hopes that the new site will act as a catalyst for further regeneration of Lozells: "Environmental and youth projects are our two priorities for the future. We hope the partnership model will work here too."
