Viewpoint - Mayor Munsif Dad - March 2015

I was honoured to be invited to events marking International Women’s Week last month.  One was the annual Aawaz Women of Achievement event, where I presented awards and certificates to a group of young people. Aawaz is a charity which raises awareness about the importance of women and their contribution in voluntary work. I’ve seen how from a small start as a tiny community group Aawaz has grown and become a well-respected and credible organisation with a proven track record of delivering tangible results.

I also attended the Women’s World Day of Prayer event at Trinity Community Church in Accrington. It was an event for both men and women to join together all over the world on that day to reach out and pray and take a moment in our busy lives to come together and pray together.
The diversity of Hyndburn has changed since the First World War with the migration of many from the Indian Subcontinent to work in the mills of Accrington and surrounding towns.  I recently supported a shared histories event which highlighted the stories of how this community’s elders contribution is intertwined with the history of the Accrington Pals, at a special event at Accrington Town Hall.

Many of the soldiers of the Commonwealth hailed from the same areas as the Asian Community of Hyndburn and I was delighted that so many teachers and pupils from local schools attended the shared histories event. It featured an interactive talk with real memorabilia related to the contribution of the soldiers of the Commonwealth in the First World War and was a wonderful way of bringing the communities together and learning about the contribution that all the communities from across the world made in the First World War and how they have a link to Accrington. Many thanks to all those who came along.

I’ve had the pleasure of attending Rossendale Mayor’s Ball this month and Ribble Valley’s Mayor’s Ball last month. Both were enjoyable fundraising events and I’m very much looking forward to my own Mayor’s Ball coming up later this month.

It’s the biggest fundraising event of the year and will take place at Accrington Town Hall on Saturday, 25th April. Tickets are still available at £30 and the evening is all about raising money for my Mayoral Charities: Accrington Deaf & Blind Society, East Lancashire Hospice, East Lancashire Air Ambulance and Macmillan Cancer Research, so please support us by coming along and raising lots of funds for these worthy causes.
We’re still looking for sponsors for the ball and are holding a raffle so we’d love to hear from anyone who’d like to provide sponsorship or donate vouchers or raffle prizes.

The Mayoral Ball starts at 6.30pm on Saturday, 25th April and features a delicious three course meal and cabaret entertainment. For more information about the Ball, sponsorship or donation of vouchers or raffle prizes, please call Monica Bell at the Council on 01254  380114 or email monica.bell@hyndburnbc.gov.uk