I chose to take part in ‘Up Our Street Sparkhill project’, more specifically working with Women’s support network Odara. The project essentially provided me with the experience of working in the local community, which is something I aspire to do as a career in the future. I worked in a team alongside three other member Moneeba, Jessica and Maryam, with the support of our mentor, Rameesha who was part of the team to guide us along the course of the project.
My journey throughout the project had been challenging as in the beginning of the project the aims and objectives did not seem to be very clear. I cannot speak on behalf of other members in the team, but I personally felt that initially there was no clear objective to be met.
However, after speaking to our mentor Rameesha, and getting in touch with Alison it became clear on what we were expected to do. After a couple of meetings with Aysha (CEO of Odara) the team decided to organise a fundraising event ‘Pizza Pamper Party’. We made flyers and Eventbrite tickets however, due to the event not being pushed out enough we were unable to go ahead with the event. Initially the team were expecting 50 people to buy tickets however, only 3 did. Therefore, the event did not go as planned and had to be cancelled. At this stage I felt disappointed that our hard work as a team did not deliver the results we expected.
Nevertheless regardless of the event taking place or not the overall experience with Odara itself as an organisation has been amazing. Aysha (the CEO of Odara) was amazing to work with. She's really friendly and made us feel comfortable. She was clear with what she expected from us throughout the project, and we tried our best to accomplished aims set as a team. Sometimes, Aysha did get busy and was unable to provide us with a response due to the lack of staff at the centre which was understandable, as at the time my assignments were also due.
This resulted in us being unable to complete the project by the set date and time.
Looking back at the project and what could be done differently, I feel that if all members of the team were actively involved in planning the event, this would have had a positive effect on the promotion of the event. Dividing tasks amongst us equally would be more effective.
The project has made me learn how to be more patient and understanding. I have also developed a deep interest in the organisation itself and decided to volunteer for them even after the project.