Orfhlaith Case Study
What made you want to do the sports coaching/lifeguarding ?
I wanted to understand more about my community. It’s such a rich diverse cultural mix and I thought the best way to understand my community where I have lived for 8 years was to get more involved in it. So when this opportunity came up to help coach within the community I share, I thought what an excellent opportunity to get more involved. I also had actually never done sports before and thought this might be the challenge I had been looking for. It would help me meet different people that I would never get the opportunity to meet, and when I qualified I knew I could actually help in a very practical way and get to know some of the amazing people in my area. I aspire to being an inspiration to other woman – to help other young woman to increase their self-confidence & belief in themselves. There was also the aspect of health. I thought I could get healthier and fitter by being involved and help my community do the same.
What were you doing before you did the coaching/surveys?
I run my own business and still do that now. But the amazing transferable skills I have learnt from these courses within the Muslim Collective have helped me enormously. I have had the privilege of being able to work with people with disabilities and many young people. This was all made possible by completing the coaching, training, ‘First Aid’ and ‘Working with Young People’ certificates I have received from my two courses. This has in turn helped me integrate into my community more and become a positive role model for other aspiring young woman.
How has doing the coaching/lifeguarding/waste surveys changed your life?
It was given me a deeper understanding of the community I live in. It has also helped increase my health and fitness levels. I actually swam 110 lengths of a 25 metre pool – something I would never have imagined possible for me prior to becoming a qualified Life Guard. I have learnt extremely valuable life skills. I have now know first aid and I know should the need ever arise that I would have full confidence in my ability to put these excellent skills into practice. It was always a dream of mine to become a life guard but I never knew how to go about doing it so this course fulfilled a very important wish for me.
What was the best part about doing the coaching/lifeguarding /waste surveys?
Learning some incredibly valuable and lifesaving skills. It was such a brilliant opportunity to learn first aid and coaching. These skills which will remain with me for life cannot be measured. I have the ability to save another human beings life. There is no more valuable lesson that anyone could ever learn. Through the course and with my work as a Football Coach for a local boys under 16 team and as Life Guard in Mile End I have met the lovely people in my community which was what this exercise was all about for me.
Would you recommend it to anyone else?
Absolutely, 110 % – I cannot say enough about the courses I did. The professionalism with which the Muslim Women’s Collective have dealt with me was superb. Also they got the very best trainers to train us. They were excellent and very supportive to everyone on the course. Sheila Cleary was the best coach and mentor that anyone could be lucky enough to have. She was with us every step of the way for the Life Guarding. You just couldn’t ask for a better qualified more professional or more inspirational trainer. She was absolutely wonderful. She taught us dedication and so many invaluable life lessons that I shall never ever forget. So I knew that the qualification I got was not only the best but that I was trained to be the very best trainer out there. I immediately on completing the course got a job in Mile End as a Life Guard. This was such a great opportunity to work with a great bunch of people and achieve that dream of mine to become a real Life Guard. It was such an amazing opportunity. I feel blessed and honoured to have had such a great opportunity offered to me. To get this chance to qualify and get these highly sought after and excellent qualifications was just wonderful for me. I loved every minute of it. I also successfully completed the Football Coaching and was trained by Stuart Inwood. He was great, he really helped us all and was extremely patient with us as few of us (including myself) had actually never played football let alone be a coach for any sports activity before. Due to the wonderful qualification and confidence I got from this course I became an assistant coach to a local under 16’s boy’s football team. So thank you so much to all the team at the Muslim’s Women’s Collective – you do an amazing job and please keep up the good work.
MUSLIM WOMEN'S COLLECTIVE
Supporting and empowering the women’s voice in Tower Hamlets…
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London E1 1PJ
Telephone: 020 7702 0036
Email: sufia.alam@muslimwomenscollective.org.uk