Hannah Chowdhry

This morning I saw the most beautiful sunrise. My father runs a security company and I was was visiting one of the sites he protects. I have been volunteering with the company for my Duke of Edinburgh Award and this was the first time I had seen it in operation.  Most of my experience with the company has been office based or working from home during the lockdown. I feel today I have gained a better insight of what security operatives face every day. Even better the rising sun created such a glow that I am still mesmerised. God has created a beautiful world and scenes like that make us realise how insignificant we are.  As the sun rose, the sky lit up like a flame, an array of yellows and oranges and even purples engulfed the sky. However, an extravagant red glow overpowered the orange and yellow and purple, creating a beautiful ombre effect. It was the most beautiful sunrise I have ever seen! It was truly a breath-taking view... And as the saying goes, with red skies comes bad weather

Me before the Mayor of London's office after being on a youth reference panel for MOPAC focused on police Stop and search policy. On 30th June 2020, I was able to attend a zoom panel with the Deputy Mayor of London for   'Social Integration, Social Mobility and  Community Engagement ' ,  Debbie Weekes-Bernard, as a volunteer for the BACA.  We were invited to talk about how the Pakistani community has been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.  The invite said: "We invite British Pakistani Christian Association  to a discussion on impact of COVID-19 on the Pakistani Community and how City Hall can address this issue for your community as we develop responsive recovery plans post COVID 19.  We would be delighted if your representative  can join us and share your views on this important conversation."  An overview of the meeting, said: "Addressing the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on BAME communities is a priority for the Mayor and on Mon

In November 2018, the Ilford Recorder reported that there were 7100 homeless people in Ilford. An increase, they suggested, was up by 13.6% on the previous year. More disconcerting was the figure of 449 homeless people who had died the previous year and a figure that suggested 65 rough sleepers were present in the borough. While this was all going on British Asian Christian Association (click here) , a group I volunteer for was working towards beginning a 'Meals for the homeless project'.    That's me feeding the homeless at the Prince of Wales Pub Car Park Ilford is not the biggest or oldest town in London, but it must have been large enough to attract rough sleepers in the 1920's as  Eric Arthur Blair, more commonly known by his pen name George Orwell, mentioned our small town in his first ever publication 'Down and out in Paris and London'. I learned about the book after a discussion with Pub Landlord, David Christof, at the Prince of Wales on Gree

Hi everyone, I've been thinking of ideas for my blog and today I want to share my routine when feeding the homeless in my previous Ilford community. It all starts early in the morning, waking up around 7 am. This can be a struggle in itself, as I'm out of the routine of waking up early for school. However, what motivates me is that our work helps the homeless which is a rewarding experience. After I wake up, my mum and I travel to Tesco's to collect food donations that will be given out at the foodbank that we prepare at 9 am every morning. Once we collect the donations, we travel to the Prince of Wales pub in Ilford. The owner was so kind to give us permission to serve the homeless in their car park during this pandemic. My mum and I then take out the tables and give them a thorough wipe down with a disinfectant. Before we do this, we both wear gloves and masks as a precaution to not spread any germs. Usually, 65 homeless or economically hard-up people come every m

Here I am introducing Father Gareth of St Mary's Church, Ilford as he prays before serving food he has delivered from his church. Hi everyone, it's been a while since I've written a blog. But I'd like to share my experiences during this lock down, so far, as I try to keep occupied and sane. During the time that I have been at home, I have become a teacher to my younger siblings. They have been given work by their school which consists of online work given and some sheets that they receive once a month. I help with their time management and with any subjects they might struggle with. As I was preparing for my GCSE's not too long ago (now cancelled :D), I can help my sister, who is in year 7, with many of her current subjects such as Spanish and science. The fact that I have studied them to a greater extent than her and to a good standard means I am competent enough. I find it very rewarding when I help my sisters, as I can help better their learning exper

A forgotten history: Though the book above is known by Redbridge Museum they were unaware of the mention of Ilford! Sometime in the 1920's, a struggling author, named Eric Arthur Blair wrote an account of his near homelessness in France and experience of washing dishes in Paris' restaurants. He later coupled the publication with a further description of a period of time he spent homeless in London. He used artistic licence to create the impression he was actually homeless, and not simply living as a vagrant for his research. His publication met with rave reviews and 55,000 copies of  'Down and Out in Paris and London' were eventually printed by penguin books in 1940.  Read more  (here) The author many years later became ranked as Britain's second most important authors since 1945, under his pseudonym George Orwell (which many of you will recognise). Quite interestingly, his article mentioned the work of the Salvation Army and other church establis