Weekly Column: Mayor Mohammed Zaman

Date published: 19 July 2018

On Monday 9 and Tuesday 10 July, I was invited to Rochdale Sixth Form College as students had mock interviews with various business people and organisations. The interviewers assessed the student’s skills and concluded whether they would consider them as an employee in the future, based on the mock interview.

Some students plan on going to university and others want to jump straight into a job or get an apprenticeship after college; this task was helpful to all students, whatever their chosen path, as they are pushed to prepare for their future.

Every student had a very clear vision of their goals as well as a strong mindset, and it was clear to see they have the full support of all tutors and teachers at the college. I thank the principal Richard Ronksley and the rest of the team who organised and invited me to the event.

A National Democracy Week event was held at the town hall, where year 6 pupils from Castleton Primary School joined myself and councillors in the council chambers.

The children were welcomed by two of the council’s election team officers, Graham and Michelle, who gave brief information on how our democracy works in Rochdale and the voting procedure.

A debate was held regarding lowering the voting age to 16; this presented mixed feelings in the pupils. An interactive session was also held with councillors as ballot papers were handed out and everyone was asked what subject they think is the best at school… art won overall.

It was good to witness the children’s understanding of democracy and them wanting to learn more as they continued to ask relevant questions.

I think it is very important for young people to be involved and informed of our democracy as it is something that impacts their lives too.

I went to Springhill Hospice for a tour and luncheon. Here, I learnt that the hospice was opened in 1989 and hosted 16 beds for people who needed end of life care. This is one of my chosen charities as mayor for the year.

I had the honour of meeting Margaret Geoghegan MBE, who started the hospice from fundraising over 30 years ago and is now 95 but still very active. This was a privilege for me and I am thankful to have gained more knowledge on the hospice from her. She is proud of her achievements.

St Andrews Church held a Remember Srebrenica ceremony, which was saddening but very interesting to me. I joined Imam’s, people from the local community and people from Manchester as individuals shared their stories of the tragedy.

In 1995, when the Srebrenica massacre happened and over 8,000 Bosnians were killed, I was working at Bury council and helped many women and children who had come here from Bosnia to escape the genocide. We provided them with counselling, accommodation and education. It was devastating to see what impact this had on people’s lives.

Footlights Theatre provided an emotional performance that tackled hate crime and social stigma through drama.

I want to thank Carlo Schroder, the community safety team officer, who organised this event to remember the families and all those effected by the tragedy.

Thursday morning, I went to Lowerplace Primary School for their spelling bee competition, where I presented the children who participated with awards. I enjoyed this very much as it was an event I’ve never experienced before.

8-year-old Fatima was very well prepared throughout the different rounds and I was glad to see many children take part, who all care about their education.

I also went to Elm Wood Primary School to see the year 6 Wizard of Oz show. I appreciate the efforts the children went to as they were committed to their roles and worked incredibly well as a team. I thank Sarah Robinson and the teachers at Elm Wood who invited me, I thoroughly enjoyed the entertainment.

Thursday evening, I had the monthly Mayor’s Charity meeting with the charity committee. I now have around 20 to 25 volunteers on the committee who are keen to always support the charities, which benefit and are vital to everyone within our community.

Friday, I attended St John’s RC Primary School Sports Awards. Prayers were said before demonstrations of high jumps, gymnastics and skipping. The skipping was the most interesting for me as the pupil skipped 337 times in 2 minutes… he was very fast.

Jenny Wallwork, a badminton player from Bolton who achieved a silver medal in the 2010 commonwealth games, also attended and gave an inspirational speech on the importance of good health and an active lifestyle.

I thank the headteacher and the PE teacher Chris Hickman for keeping young people involved in active lifestyles.

Saturday was a very busy day, as always. First, I went to the PossAbilities Hub in Heywood for a family fun day. There were many activities both inside and outside for people to engage with including a bouncy castle, competitions and a football match in honour of the football match that day. This is a place for people to go who are feeling lonely and isolated and seek companionship.

I then attended Ambition for Ageing’s open day which had local singers, flower arranging, a raffle and head massages at Burnside Community Hub. This was very well attended and aimed to bring together the young and the old. I would love to go back soon and support the work that they do.

I went to Bamford Chapels garden party in the afternoon, where everyone enjoyed performances from Rochdale Music Service. I liked the old royal mail van that was on display too.

Councillors and ex-councillors joined me as we shared food and watched a local karate clubs demonstration. It was a very warm day and I’m sure the ice cream van did very well. I thank the organisers Claire Gooding and her colleagues at Bamford Chapel for allowing me to view the inside of the beautiful building.

Sunday, I went to Oldham Parish Church as the Royal British Legion invited all mayors across Greater Manchester to attend a service of remembrance. This was to commemorate and thank those who had sacrificed their lives for our freedom during the war and helped us have this future.

After the service we had strawberry tea and cake at the church café. Again, this was a very well attended event and it is good to see that memorial services are still ongoing as we take pride in those who gave for the country.

These soldiers must always be remembered and respected, especially in younger generations. May God bless their souls.