Category: Grassroots Channel

Meeting and talking to people doing fabulous things in communities.

Clean Medina – the Jihad on litter in Birmingham – a new podcast on Grassroots Channel

Omar Hassan from Clean Medina

Does it seem extreme to declare a Jihad on litter?

Not to a group in Small Heath in Birmingham. Clean Medina says that Muslim neighbourhoods in the city are far too messy and they want to change that. So they’ve launched a “struggle’ against rubbish and waste, and whilst they’re at it they also want to reclaim Jihad as a positive force. The campaign kicks off this weekend (23rd september 2007):

Inner city Muslims and friends will be taking to the streets of inner city Birmingham on 23rd September to launch a jihad (struggle) against waste. Rappers, drummers, flag wavers with litter pickers to hand will converge on Small Heath’s Somerville Road to clean up the district.

Tired of rubbish-strewn streets, Muslims have decided to clean up and recycle, going from mosque to mosque, starting with Noor ul Uloom mosque, Birmingham’s oldest. TheClean Medina Campaign will be launched with a big push, a shout (Allahu Akbar!) and a (movie) shoot (cast of thousands, mujahidin all). We’re also making a film: Smallywood Heath in Brum!

Listen to the podcast to hear rapper Omar Hassan (foregound in the picture), campaigner Assed Baig (behind Omar) and film maker Ayman Ahwal (see picture here) explain why they’re so fed up with the dirty streets that give Muslim neighbourhoods a bad reputation.

Pimps, prostitutes and Grandad’s Army – new podcast on the Grassroots Channel

Chris Hoare

This is the story of Chris Hoare: a grandfather who’s worked for years to clear prostitution from the Waterworks Estate on the borders of Edgbaston and Ladywood in inner-city Birmingham. His neighbours were so fearful of the pimps that they asked Chris to step up and take action. To find out why he did it this way please listen to the podcast.

The tower over Chris’s shoulder is Perrott’s Folly – a building with links to Tolkien. He worked with the Birmingham Conservation Trust (declaration – I’m a trustee!) to prevent the building’s collapse. Next steps are to use it as a tourist draw, turning what was once a neighbourhood riddled with vice into an international family attraction.

The residents have also transformed many of their communal areas. Chris is standing in front of Anderton Gardens, a new garden named after a police sergeant who worked with them. (created with help from Groundwork Birmingham)

The pragmatic approach of Chris and others in the Birmingham South West residents group reminds me of so many others we’ve spoken to on the Grassroots Channel, especially the people of Perry Common and Masood Yasin in Washwood Heath.

Thanks to Paul from the Chamberlain Forum for introducing me to Chris.

Better Schools for Birmingham? A new podcast on the Grassroots Channel

Naseem Akhtar is angry – quietly, productively, but all the same angry. She believes the families of Birmingham deserve better schools, schools which have greater aspirations for their pupils, schools which aim to do more than achieve an average outcome for children.

Last month she launched a city wide campaign on the quality of education in Birmingham. She wants to apply pressure from parents and professionals to help teachers, heads, school governors and politicians raise their game.

To find out more about Naseem and what motivates here, listen to the latest programme from the Grassroots Channel. Use the link to download notes from the launch of campaign group which set out problems and potential solutions.

 

Refucast – the podcast for refugees – new on the Grassroots Channel

Mikko Kapanen and Shauna Magunda are two students at UCE in Birmingham who used their final year project to experiment with podcasting to tell the stories of refugees in the city. This programme talks to them about how and why they did it and also hears excerpts from some of the remarkable people who spoke to Shauna and made it onto Refucast.