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BSC Winter health event a great success!

Ipswich Star article

Bangladeshi Support Centre (BSC), an award-winning community organisation based in Ipswich, supported by Ipswich and East Suffolk CCG, organised a winter health awareness event on 29 January 2019 at Manor Ballroom, Ipswich which was a great success!

Winter Health Event

Around 150 people, men and women, of diverse background attended the event. Talks on how to stay healthy and well during the winter period was delivered by Dr Juno, a GP and member of Ipswich and Suffolk CCG, Mamun Alam, a Pharmacist from Woodbridge Road Pharmacy and Loai Mohmoud, a nutritionist and fitness instructor from Re-Shape, which specialises in fitness, health and wellbeing.

The purpose of the event was to raise awareness of health and wellbeing in the winter especially focusing on the most vulnerable including elderly people, children and those will pre-existing long-term health conditions.

Guests included Cllr Jane Riley, Mayor of Ipswich, Cllr Graham Newman, Mayor of Felixstowe and Suffolk County Councillor, Irene MacDonald, Lay Member of Ipswich and East Suffolk CCG, several community and faith leaders from across Ipswich and East Suffolk, in addition to BSC’s trustees, staff and volunteers. Stallholders at the event included Wellbeing Suffolk, One Life Suffolk, Suffolk Fire Service, Ipswich CAB Surviving Winter Funding Team, Suffolk Parent Carer Network, and other activities included Health Checks, Massage, Health Advice, Group Exercise, Healthy Options, Staying fit and active during winter.

Boshor Ali, Chair of BSC, said, “This is a wonderful event and it is so good to see people of diverse background here including Romanian, Polish, Middle Eastern, African and Asian. Big thanks to Ipswich and East Suffolk CCG and BSC staff and volunteers for making this event happen.”

For more info, please contact Shayra Begum on 01473 400081 / Mohammed Alam 07932 644466

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100 Inspirational Women in Suffolk

100 inspirational women in Suffolk

This is a list that Suffolk should be proud of – 100 women who are positive role models for future generations, women who have achieved success in a diverse range of fields from business, the arts, sport and education to the third sector.

The list was put together by a panel of judges this summer following nominations from East Anglian Daily Times readers.

From the 100

Shayra Begum, Bangladeshi Support Centre, Ipswich: Shayra, manager of Ipswich’s Bangladeshi Support Centre, came to England in 1975, aged six, from Bangladesh with her mother to join her father who had settled in Ipswich. Shayra, now mother to four grown-up children herself, has always lived in the town and says nowhere else compares. By the age of seven or eight she says she was already involved in helping the Bangladeshi community by interpreting at GP surgeries, hospitals, Inland Revenue, and the Benefits Office as only a handful spoke English at the time. Shayra says she has had various roles supporting the local Bangladeshi community and she has worked for the BSC since 2004 in various roles. BSC is a voluntary organisation supporting people of around 40 different nationalities. “I have worked on various projects over the years,” Shayra says, “as well as a general adviser providing advice, support and guidance on a whole range of issues including domestic violence issues, benefits, housing, and Immigration. I also deliver various training such as in cultural awareness to service providers.“I enjoy the challenges of event management and manage events for BSC such as the Suffolk Pita Festival and the One Big Multicultural Festival that brings in thousands of people from Suffolk and beyond to enjoy music and food from around the world, with an aim to create a better understanding between the diverse communities of Suffolk. “I am a trustee for the Disabled Advice Bureau and also volunteer for the Ipswich and Suffolk Muslim Council where I help to put on events to create better understanding of the Muslim faith and help out at its monthly Feed the Homeless project.”

EADT Article

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Suffolk’s diversity to be celebrated at the One Big Multicultural Festival

One Big Multicultural Festival Launch 2018

East Anglian Daily Times article

The first details of this year’s One Big Multicultural Festival in Suffolk have been revealed.

The free event, which celebrates the county’s diversity and promotes bringing communities together, will take place on September 2 in Alexandra Park, Ipswich.

In previous years, it has attracted crowds of up to 8,000 – and this year it is expected to be the best yet.

Organised by the Bangladeshi Support Centre and backed by the Arts Council, the event is now in its eighth year.

Boshor Ali, chairman of the Bangladeshi Support Centre, said: “It’s getting bigger and better and stronger.

“It is important to include everybody and celebrate the different cultures we have.”

He added: “We are trying to get different things on board this year. We have two or three international performers.”

He also praised the passion and dedication of the organisations involved.

Food and drink from international cuisines plus a range of activities for all the family will be on offer throughout the day.

BBC Radio Suffolk presenter Wayne Bavin will be hosting this year’s event.

There will also be a fantastic selection of live music from around the world – this year, that will include top musicians from West Africa – as well as dance, and sports on offer.

Ipswich Borough Council has supported the event since its inception. Council leader David Ellesmere spoke at the launch, held in Alexandra Park this week, about the importance of the event and reflected on its huge success.

Meanwhile, Shayra Begum, from the Bangladeshi Support Centre, said: “We need something that brings people together.

“We are all just people, and we need to get that message out to young people.”

Organisers say everyone is invited to the festival – with guest numbers expected to top 8,000. The action starts at noon and finishes at around 6pm.

While the event is in Ipswich, organisers say it is very much a festival for the whole of Suffolk.

There will also be free stalls to communities who want to promote and highlight their heritage and culture.

If you are interested in setting up one of those, email email hidden; JavaScript is required

One Big Multicultural Festival

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