The Parvaaz Project is a social activity group which supports services for children and adults with a variety of disabilities. It was set up and is part of The Asian Health Agency (TAHA), which is a non-profit organisation and aim to provide health and social care services, as well as giving everyone a fair chance at participating in a variety of physical activities.
The Parvaaz Project logo.
My friend joined the group and shortly after he introduced it to my family and I. Two of the senior staff members came to meet me at my house and my first day was at one of their parties, which was always back then held in a building called ‘The Rotunda Club’ in Slough. The group would meet at Arbour Vale School every Friday evening for a few hours where all could play sport, dance or even just chill and talk. It was always very well organised, where every Friday the office would contact the user to confirm their attendance, and a minibus with an electronic ramp was arranged to pick everyone up. During the school holidays, the group always took everyone to outings such as going to watch a movie at the cinema, visiting public parks, having small family gatherings, and going bowling.
Photo of my brothers, my friend Tahir and I.
The staff started to change and except for Tahir and a few others, users also came and went. I left the group for a little while, but then returned on my 18th birthday where the group met at the new Arbour Vale School building and the time had changed to Saturdays between the 10.30am to 1.30pm. Official P.E. schoolteachers attended every session and ran sporting activities such as bulldog, tag and football. The rest of the group took part in arts and crafts, where everyone would come together for lunch and have a laugh. The parties started to be held at bigger venues, such as Baylis House. Huge amounts of families attended every special event, which were full of fun and had great entertainment.
My brothers, Tahir, two staff members and I at Baylis House, 2010 Christmas party.
The staff and I got on very well and I got the opportunity to work with them for some summers. Holiday trips improved by a high standard and I got to enjoy the best of both worlds. Working alongside a great team, whilst going out to the beach and theme parks with friends. A few people that I became good friends with included Claire and her son, Alex. The group had gained many members so needed another bus. To raise funds, I got my eyebrows shaped through waxing and threading. The wax was tolerable. However, with threading there were a few tears in my eyes. Knowing that it was for a good cause, I took the pain. Furthermore, my school did a charity event to help Parvaaz with the bus. In total, about half a grand was raised.
Pictures of me before and after having my eyebrows shaped.
Parvaaz also started doing respite, such as going to clients to help with housework and taking them out and about. Once I began university, I had workers coming twice a week to assist me with my coursework, feed me lunch, go to the Mosque, and play games on the PlayStation 2. Unfortunately, as Parvaaz had reached its peak, it was short-lived due to cutbacks and staff leaving. Literally out of the blue, the once free group had to charge a high fee per hour. This marked the last day for many, including Tahir and I. Both of us were there for the longest compared to the rest of the group at that time, including the staff members. We had both been there for over a dozen years.
Picture of Claire and I.
Parvaaz is still running under new management and the services haven’t changed. However, very few members during my 12 years at the group are still there. Nevertheless, I will always be proud to be part of the Parvaaz Project, both as a worker and a user. I have many fond memories of the group and hope they provide the same services to the next generation as they provided me.
For more information click here Parvaaz Project
By Khaleel Chima – Assistant Editor Ability Today