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
This Week at Pulling Together we have created our A-Z scrapbook presentation. We hope that you will find it enjoyable and informative.
This week at Pulling Together we have been producing our OT WonderWomen scrapbooks. The young women have been collecting images they find inspiring and making a reference of where to go for help and information that is personal to them. We hope they will continue to add to it after the project has been completed. It was also discussed that a digital reference should be created and published on to the website for everyone to access. Members will choose which pages they will produce online and the whole book will be created into a presentation by the young women in the following week.
This week at Pulling Together we have been creating our collage of images and creating a covered dress form. We look forward to the completed project.
This week at Pulling Together we have continued with our Asian Food Can Be Healthy Too project and managed to take advantage of the wonderful weather. Members have been sharing images of their healthy barbecue meals.
This week at Pulling Together we have continued with our OT Wonder Women project. Thank you to the members who have helped create a logo for the project and to those members who have been helping to design the collage for our project.
OT WonderWomen Logo
This week at Pulling Together we continued with our healthy food project. The group have been sharing tips on how to make their recipes healthier and what they have been preparing. A lot of the group have said how much they have enjoyed this project especially during lock down as some of them have not been confident ordering food from the takeaway and this has given them more choices. Some of the members have said that they will be using the recipes from our book and the tips they have learnt during the month of Ramadan instead of the usual fried samosas and pakore that they usually make.
This week at Pulling Together we began the actual cooking part of our Asian Food can Be Healthy Too. After delivering food to group members we held a Zoom session in the evening and members showed what they had cooked and decided what they would be preparing with their individual food packs.
This week at Pulling Together we have continued with our OT Wonder Women project. We continued with creating our magazine covers.
Pulling Together Asian Women's Group 