Not In Our Name!

Following the atrocities in Paris members of our Women's Voices group in Darnall decided that they wanted to say, 'Not in our name!'

One of the members of the group who decided to join in is a Christian and she said that the indiscriminate bombing of ISIS territory in retaliation for the atrocities is not in her name too.

Most members of the group didn't want to show the whole of their face on-line. Some were afraid they might be victims of hate crime. Some wanted to conceal their faces for religious reasons.

The Group said, "We are here to say Not in My Name because our religion is not a religion of terrorism, it is not a religion of war but of peace and co-existence."

S9 Food Bank Appeal Features on Radio Iman

Sylvia & Neil Hamilton from Living Waters receive the Donation from the team at Iman FM

Syvlia and Neil Hamilton on air at Radio Iman FM

Sylvia and Neil Hamilton from the Living Waters Christian Fellowship, which acts as the local depot for the Burngreave Food Bank in Darnall, spoke emotionally on Radio Iman FM about the support the Food Bank has received from all sections of the community, and particularly from local Muslims. Radio Iman itself has made a donation.

Future of the Clover Group of GPs' Surgeries

The future of the Clover Group, which runs the GPs' surgeries at Darnall Primary Care Centre and the Highgate Surgery in Tinsley, is in serious doubt. NHS England is putting the services which the Clover Group provides out to tender. The lowest bid is likely to win.

We realise that many people will feel that it is already too difficult to get an appointment to see a doctor or nurse practitioner and will wonder whether putting the Clover Group under new ownership might actually make things better! This is unlikely to happen, however, because there is less money on the table and the new owners could be a national or international group of doctors and investors who will not know anything about the needs of local people. 

We believe that the best way to deal with unacceptable waiting times is to talk to the Clover Group about this and ask them to make some changes, not to take a gamble that new owners might provide a better service.

The Clover Group has invested a lot of energy and resources in supporting local programmes that help patients to cope with diabetes, mental health issues, keeping fit and healthy living. This cuts down on the amount of time patients need to spend with GPs and nurses and saves money that can be spent on other important things. 

It is also exactly what NHS England have said GPs ought to be doing all over the country, to reduce the growing pressures on their services and make their resources go further. Unfortunately, all of this will be put at risk if a new owner comes in who is unaware of what has been happening.

The government has made it compulsory for the Clover Practice to be put out to tender, and there is nothing we can do to prevent this unless there is a change in the law. What we can do, however, is to ask NHS England to consult us about it first, so that the design of the tender can take what is happening here into account.

You can read more about this on Professor Mark Gamsu's blog. He is a visiting professor at Leeds Beckett University and a leading expert on involving local communities in public health.

Send us a tweet or an email if you live in Darnall or Tinsley and agree that you would like to be consulted. Better still, contact NHS England by tweeting to @NHSEngland or email  https://www.england.nhs.uk/contact-us/ . Tell them you have read Darnall Forum's blog and you support what it says and want to know when the consultation is going to start.

Women's Voices in Darnall Ward

Women's Voices Course

The Women's Voices course is now fully booked. But you can register for the next Women's Voices course next term by calling Darnall Forum on (0114) 249 0099 and leaving your details, or by sending us an email.

Darnall Well Being AGM Tonight

Darnall Well Being

Invites you to their

Annual General Meeting

Tuesday 10^th November

5:00pm – 7:30pm.

At Darnall Primary Care Centre.

The theme for the evening is

Celebrating

15 Years of Darnall Well Being

·       Meet their team of staff and volunteers

·       discover last year's highlights

·       Hear about DWB’s rich history

·       Help them look forward to the next 15 years

Refreshments from 5pm, light buffet 7.30pm

Please call (0114) 249 6315 to confirm your attendance.  The staff, directors and volunteers at DWB look forward to seeing you!

S9 Food Bank Appeal

Thank you to everyone who came out to support the S9 Food Bank Appeal on Saturday. We had a great response from local residents and volunteers from across Sheffield.

Local residents making a food donation

Councillor Iqbal helped us plan for the day and came to lend a hand

Local taxi drivers gave us their support

The African Women's Help Group donated food

Thank you to Orchid Hair and Beauty, the African Women's Health Group, S9 Communication, Darnall Post Office, Sheffield Muslim Community Forum, Councillor Mazher Iqbal, Sheffield Taxi Drivers, Sheffield Asian Media Forum, Darnall Forum and its Community Organisers, BBC Radio Sheffield, Sheffield University, Bangla Bazaar and most of all the volunteers who helped out today. Without you guys it would have never been possible. 

The food was donated to the Living Waters Christian fellowship and we raised £431 on the day! 

Of course, we are still collecting. Donations can be dropped off at Darnall Forum or Darnall Post Office.

Some people like to carp, and criticise us because the majority of the people we work with are of South Asian heritage. They seem to think this is unfair, even though people from South Asian cultures and backgrounds are in the majority.

How refreshing it is, then, to see generous people from all the different communities in Darnall coming together to support a good cause, and to see Christian and Muslim organisations and volunteers working together to help those most in need.

Sylvia Hamilton from Living Waters Christian Fellowship, which acts as the local collection and distribution point for the Burngreave Food Bank, said, "Thank you so much for supporting the Food bank in Darnall with a collection of food.  Zahira and all the volunteers, you were absolutely brilliant in the way you organised the event and got involved.   The result was awesome in spite of the weather. I hope you all get chance to have a rest and recover. Keep up the good work!"

Bonfire Night

Fireworks at Don Valley Bowl

Darnall Forum took some young people to the After Dark event at Don Valley Bowl on Guy Fawkes' Night. 
Free Tickets were given to Zahira Naz by Cllr Mazher Iqbal and Cllr Mary Lea, to reduce anti social behaviour in Tinsley. The local youth workers also took older youths to the event. 

Litter Picking on the Greenlands and Stovin Estates

Litter pickers in Darnall

Darnall Forum Community Organiser Zahira Naz, Millie from Amey and volunteers took part in a litter pick as part of a Day of Action organised by South Yorkshire Housing Association on 3 November on the Greenlands and Stovin Drive Estates. Free safety alarms, and information on safety were also offered by Sheffield City Council officers and Police officers at Stovin Drive. 

Love Food, Hate Waste

Last week's 'Love Food Hate Waste' training was delivered for us by Peter from WRAP. Some of the ladies agreed to be photographed, but some preferred not to appear and some preferred not to show their face. Each participant received a Food Champion pack and other resources.

Food Bank Collection at Bangla Bazaar on Saturday

In 2013-14 food banks fed 913,138 people nationwide. Of those helped, 330,205 were children. Rising food and fuel prices, static incomes, under-employment and changes to benefits are some of the reasons why increasing numbers of people are being referred to food banks for emergency help.

Darnall Forum and Sheffield Muslim Community Forum are working alongside local residents to launch the S9 Food Bank Appeal. Please pledge your support.

Gifts of food will be collected on our behalf by Living Waters, who work with the Burngreave Food Bank and the Trussell Trust to provide a local food bank service in Darnall.

The idea of getting the local Muslim community involved in the food bank phenomenon came from an Asian Taxi driver living in Darnall.  He wanted to do something positive in the community to improve community cohesion and to counteract the negative media bias about Muslims. Local people hope this project will show Muslims and Christians in a positive light, especially as they are working together to support people in need.

Darnall Forum’s community organiser Zahira Naz says, “I contacted Sheffield Muslim Community Forum as they had already done something similar to support the S2 Foodbank appeal.  They were happy to support us, alongside Sheffield Asian Media Forum.”

Zahira left food boxes at the Subud Centre, Darnall Forum, Darnall Post Office, Orchid Hair and Beauty, S9 Communications and Rassam’s and they have been filling up. She says, “Local businesses have been happy to support us.”

Darnall’s local ward councillors are also supporting this project. Councillor Mazher Iqbal, who is involved in the Food Poverty Strategy for Sheffield, says, ‘It’s a wonderful idea.’

He will be helping Zahira and other volunteers to collect food and other urgently needed grocery items outside the Bangla Bazaar on Staniforth Road, from 11am till 3pm on Saturday 7 November.

Watch the video here