"I was thrust into an environment where sensitivity, patience, vulnerability and kindness were significant characteristics"

Lottie Alayo shares what she learnt and gained from her time on our work experience placement for young people.

As a student studying Politics and International Relations at Queen Mary University of London, my exposure to the issues society faces has thoroughly impacted my understanding of social and economic disparity in the UK. Furthermore, growing up in North London, I have had my fair share of experiencing the negative consequences of inequality. Upon applying to Social Action for Health, my goal was to gain first-hand insight into community-based work and to actively get involved in helping to support the community of Tower Hamlets.

I wanted to work directly with the people and not just for the people and I wanted to give the underrepresented a voice when it was often unheard. Thus, my time working with Social Action for Health had allowed me to do so and it opened my eyes and mind to a lot of issues, from mental health and the health and safety of women to gentrification and cultural stigmas. It was emotionally engaging and inspiring because I was thrust into an environment where sensitivity, patience, vulnerability and kindness were significant characteristics of our project of building trust within the community. Each day at Social Action for health was considerably different and exhilarating yet the community outreach workshops were my most memorable.

I had the opportunity to be a part of the Bangladeshi women’s workshop for the outreach project. The intimacy of sitting in a circle and sharing our personal stories and opinions on trust in the community was staggering. Initially, as a group, we started with introductions of our names, revealing a small fact about ourselves and what our purpose was, which helped to build the trust that we were trying to embody for our project between ourselves and the women. We analysed the word ‘trust’ and asked each woman to tell us what the word meant to them and who they trusted the most.

Surprisingly, the choices varied quite significantly, some stated family members, particularly a mother or maternal figure, while others trusted their religious beliefs/God highlighting religious figures such as Mahatma Gandhi and Sheik Abdul Qayyum, the senior imam at the East London Mosque in Whitechapel. However, the most controversial figures mentioned that surprised our group were Angela Merkel and the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, both who were praised for their strong-willed characters. More specifically, they suggested Angela Merkel because she represents female empowerment, and she is someone who they believe is selfless due to her good actions towards Syrian immigrants.

Moreover, celebrities like Gordon Ramsey also appeared during the conversation where the women not only acknowledged his expertise and his hard, direct, and open character as important features that define their trust in a person, but they also appreciated his approach to people and their cooking – ‘he always expects the best’ – and his skill was greatly loved by one woman who described successfully cooking his recipes with her son.

Overall, the women were pleased to have their voices heard and the experience was overwhelming and powerful. The concept that trust can grow and develop over time was an overarching point that caught my attention during the session; it was clear that trust evolved from someone who consistently showed honesty, knowledge, commitment, dedication, and had proved over time their worthiness to others. This project was one that influenced how I viewed people in respect of their opinions and behaviour. I learnt that I share as many similarities as I do differences with strangers, and it has made me more aware that trust has a different meaning to every person.

Social Action for Health has provided me with the opportunity to make great connections, learn new things, share experiences with others, engage with the community, and, most importantly, work towards an ideal change for all. I think it gave me something that no other job could offer. Close connection and involvement with people.

By Lottie Alayo