Join an exciting online workshop on Thursday 18th February from 5pm – 7pm, bringing residents together to discuss the opportunities for local people to develop their ideas for social business, understand some of the ideas and approaches behind social business or social enterprise development, and how to access further support.
Click the link below to register and get involved: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/social-enterprise-workshop-tickets-140134563251
The 13-week programme was funded by Barking & Dagenham Renew and was run by resident steering group member Pierre Epoh Moudio. It covered English language and employability skills and was delivered online (via Zoom) due to the pandemic.
In total eight students joined the programme, with over 50% having been recommended to the programme by satisfied students. The programme receives students from a variety of backgrounds, including Romania, Albania, France, Bangladesh, Georgia Bulgaria and Italy. Most of them are residents in the Thames Ward area and a few are from Dagenham.
The programme was well attended every Saturday and the achievement by the students was also excellent. By the end of the programme, all the students completed key daily tasks that they could not do at the beginning such as filling in an application form for work, registering with a doctor, talking about their skills and qualities, and having a short phone conversation. The feedback received from the students has been incredibly positive!
I like this class. I learned English in this class with a great teacher and good classmates. I recommend this course for everyone because if you do not know English you WILL learn it by the end of the course!
Initially a 10-week programme, it was expanded into a 13-week programme due to increased demand, and has been curated to the students’ needs. Despite the lockdown, the programme has played an important and positive part in their lives, enabling them to learn new skills in the comfort of their homes, make new friends, and meet people on a weekly basis especially for those who live alone.
I thought It was vital to continue the programme during lockdown because I know from my personal experience what affect isolation and loneliness can have on our health.
However, it was not without its challenges. Most of the students found it difficult to use the online video conferencing app Zoom at the start of the course, so a session was dedicated to instructing students on how to use it. Pierre further assisted some students by helping them install the app on their devices (while socially distanced), showing the varied types of support Pierre has needed to provide.
Pierre’s passion for supporting students has translated into tangible change for many of them. Recently, a student Pierre was supporting through his mentoring scheme was offered a job as a care assistant volunteer in a local hospital. He notes that her self-esteem and confidence have grown immensely and she is now able to set even bigger goals than she first considered.
I'm really happy I’m learning English with Pierre, he is an amazing teacher, is very good at explaining, and I have learned a lot from him. I hope to go back to his classes. 10/10!
The vision for the future is to continue the ESOL and employability programmes and also start a mentoring programme that supports students to achieve their full potential and improve the quality of their lives.
Additionally, there are plans for the ESOL class to be divided into two classes to cater for different levels: one for elementary students and another one for intermediate students.
Pierre hopes to provide further sessions to meet the demands of his students once additional funding has been secured.
I would like you to continue to teach us in the same way and to pay attention to us in the same way. Thank you for everything and I hope you will continue to teach us with the same energy and desire. Thank you very much.
If you would like more information about the free ESOL programme, employability programme, and mentoring scheme, please complete the form below.
TWCP has received some incredibly positive feedback recently on the work it has been doing to strengthen and support the people of Barking and Dagenham’s Thames Ward. On 13 August 2020 the Barking and Dagenham Faith Forum announced TWCP had won their ‘Improving Access to Services’ award for the ESOL for Parents programme and shortly after on the 28 September 2020 was recognised for its work again with the same award at the Rotary Club of Stratford’s East London Community Heroes Awards.
ESOL for Parents Programme lead, local resident and ESOL Lecturer Pierre Epoh Moudio commented:
“Winning these awards means a lot to me. I have always believed in the idea of working with the less fortunate and those who are sometimes forgotten. The work I do enables them to have access to various services which are essential for their survival. I help them to build their confidence, make new connections and achieve their full potential. I know from personal experience that living in a foreign country without proper guidance and support is extremely hard and can sometimes lead to isolation, depression and a sense of worthlessness. All the support I got has allowed me to achieve most of the goals I had when I arrived in the UK, but it was not easy at all. There were times when I wanted to give up but luckily I didn’t.
Setting up the ESOL for Parents programme is a way for me to give back to society and winning these awards gives me the confidence that there are people out there who believe in my idea. Helping those immigrants improve their English and seeing a smile on their faces make me happy and pushes me to do more for them every day. Through these awards I have had a request from Stratford Rotary Club who would like to work with me, which is another big boost for my project”.
The Mayor of Barking and Dagenham Peter Chand, remarked “This project makes sure that no one is left behind” while Himanshu Jain (Chair, Barking & Dagenham Faith Forum and Charter President & Foundation Chair, Rotary Club of Stratford) remarked “Your project makes a huge difference to the local community”.
Congratulations Pierre, keep up the good work! If you or anyone you know would be interested in hearing more about ESOL for Parents or any other work that we do then contact us: info@twcp.org.uk
Click on the links below to watch the award ceremony:
Barking Faith and Community Award 13 August 2020 https://twitter.com/unmeshdesai/status/1293976078898335746?s=19
East London Community Award 28 September 2020
https:/youtu.be/cnNEAk4-h-A.
TWCP Steering Group and Skills & Enterprise Citizen Action Group member Pierre Epoh Moudio is our next success story when it comes to gaining some independent funding and support after receiving £800 funding from Barking and Dagenham Renew to run the next 12 week programme of ESOL for Parents.
If you live or work in Thames Ward and you or anyone you know is interested in improving you English then get in touch! The sessions are FREE and focus on offering support for parents, carers and wider residents of the borough to improve their English and with it their job opportunities and wellbeing.
Congratulations Pierre!!!
As a response to the Coronavirus pandemic sweeping the globe, several TWCP Resident Steering Group members got together to discuss a community response for their local community. They wanted to bring people together and keep them active and engaged despite the lockdown. They came up with a programme of weekly posts and livestreams on Zoom, Instagram and Facebook Live.
Using their skills and passions to teach, inspire, support and connect the local community. Most importantly, they wanted the sessions to be fun and to bring people together to keep them feeling happy and positive!
All of the sessions are led by local residents and take place throughout the week
To get the word out to local parents about his FREE English classes for parents in Thames Ward he spent the evening yesterday at Year 9 parents evening meeting local residents and letting them know about his upcoming pilot programme.
As well as being a qualified ESOL and Employability Lecturer with 15+ years experience he is also a resident of Barking Riverside and experienced many of the challenges his students face when he first arrived in the UK from Cameroon and initially struggled to find work, despite being able to speak English fluently.
There was a lot of interest from local parents wanting to sign-up with a very wide range of countries represented.
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