Teenagers unite for community day
TEENAGERS of all faiths and none banded together in Cardiff to show solidarity in the face of the Westminster terror attack – and carried out acts of kindness across the city.
Jewish, Christian, Sikh and nonfaith teenagers aged 16 to 19 joined a Muslim Sadaqa Day to help elderly and homeless people.
They visited Penylan Residential Hotel for the Retired to talk to residents on Mother’s Day, picked up litter with Keep Wales Tidy in Cathays and cooked and handed out 50 hot meals for homeless people.
The day had been planned by youth leaders from the Muslim Council for Wales (MCW) iLEAD youth leadership course before last week’s attack on Westminster – but after the atrocity, more young teenagers contacted them to join in.
Ali Amir, iLEAD course coordinator, said: “There was a large uptake in people wanting to get involved as they felt coming together was the right thing to do. They also wanted to show solidarity to the Muslim community.
“In a time when solidarity is needed, the young people of Cardiff proved that individuals, no matter what faith, have a common interest and showed wonderful unity to do some good for the community in Cardiff.
“We will continue to do whatever we can to benefit those in our city, while forming even stronger relationships with those around us.”
One of the teenagers involved in the community day, 17-year-old Fatima, said: “I had such a great time and I think activities like this should be done more often. The homeless people were so genuinely thankful for the food, and we had lots of people surprised and happy to see what we were doing, so it was great to represent the Muslim community in this way.”
The iLead course has been run by the MCW for the last five years.
On its website, it says it is aimed at “drawing on expertise from all areas of business, academia and Islamic Scholarship, to equip the youth with confidence, knowledge and tools to become productive members of British society.”
After running successfully in Cardiff, it is now being extended to Swansea, Newport and west Wales.
The course trains young leaders to help other young people get involved in community projects and be more aware of politics, current affairs, British Muslim identity and multiculturalism.