This week at Pulling Together the young women helped finish off the canvas from last week and included the extra pieces they felt that it needed.

This week at Pulling Together we celebrated our end of project event. Thank you to GMVCO for funding our OT WonderWomen project. It has been an interesting project throughout and all the young women agreed that they have learnt how to become OT WonderWomen and help others who may need advice or mentoring. Each of the participants was given a voucher to buy what they wanted for their end of project celebration. We also saw the finished dress maker’s dummy made by Sofia and Hiba. It is a great piece of art that will be used in the group on future events.

This week we saw the relaxing of some of the lockdown rules in this area and it gave some of the members a chance to meet up in one house and begin to complete some of the work we have been doing on our OT Wonder Women project. After looking at what we have prepared the young women decided that more work needed to be done on the canvas to give it more impact.

This week at Pulling Together at Pulling Together we have combined our two most recent projects Chrome IT in Old Trafford and our OT Wonderwomen projects. Lyba had been given one of the Chromebooks a few weeks ago and this week she contacted Tabrida one of our former members via Zoom and asked her a few questions about the group and her life now as an OT Wonder Woman.

Lyba: When did you come to the group?
Tabrida: I came to the group when I was 11 years old and I had newly started high school and I left the group aged 16. 

Lyba: How did you benefit from the group?
Tabrida: I benefited from the group massively. It helped me grow in many ways. I went to the l group at an age where I was just starting to explore what it meant to be not only a girl but a British Asian girl. It helped me navigate any conflict I had with my two different cultures and what having an identity truly meant. 
I feel so lucky that I was a part of the group as it allowed me to have really rich experiences from trips to theaters, different cities, all kinds of museum exhibitions as well as having the opportunity to put on many of our own art shows. It gave me a chance to truly express myself through art. 
One particular project had a significant impact on me and one which I will never forget. It was when we had the opportunity to ask our own parents about their roots and how change of language and lifestyle affected them it really helped me understand my mother and other women’s experiences and opened my eyes on how amazing it can be when two cultures intertwine. To have a chance to learn about the past and how that shaped our present and future and then to communicate those conversations through art was a very special opportunity.  

Lyba: What do you do now?
Tabrida:I now work as a clinical pharmacist. Helping the community by providing different health services and helping patients make shared and informed decisions about their goals for their health. 

Lyba: What would you say to someone who is thinking of coming to the group?
Tabrida: I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend the group. Without a doubt it contributed to who I am today and inspired me in a lot of ways! Also there’s a 99%  chance you will make friends for life.

Swipe image to see Tabrida then and now